Family of man allegedly held captive for 20 years in CT speaks out as stepmom appears in court
WATERBURY, Connecticut (WABC) -- The biological family of a Connecticut man who said he was held captive for 20 years spoke out on Wednesday as his stepmother appeared in court.
Kimberly Sullivan said nothing as she rushed past a crush of cameras.
The walk into court took nearly as long as the abbreviated proceeding.
The 56-year-old is charged with keeping her stepson captive in a room for 20 years.
The victim's biological mother, who says she never stopped searching for her son, was among those at the courthouse.
"It's just disgusting that she's allowed to be on the streets right now," Tracy Vallerand said.
In February, the victim deliberately set a fire to draw first responders to the home.
Body camera footage captured a firefighter carrying the now 32-year-old.
The man told police he was kept in a locked room virtually 24 hours a day with little food and no medical care.
Harsh treatment that allegedly got worse after his father died last year, though Sullivan has denied any wrongdoing.
"Those allegations are serious, but those allegations are made by one person. I understand the whole world has jumped on those allegations and has already convicted my client. But the good thing about America is that's not how we work," Sullivan's attorney, John Kaloidis, said.
Sullivan is free on a $300,000 bond. In the meantime, the victim's mother and half-sister say they searched online for years for any sign of the person who stopped attending school when he was 11.
"I was thinking that he was, you know, allowed to be a human and living his life and you just can't imagine anything like this happening because this doesn't happen," the man's sister, Heather Tessman, said.
MORE: Woman charged with holding 'severely emaciated' stepson in captivity for 20 years: Cops
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