Kimberly Sullivan Kidnapping Case: Charges, Defense, and Civil Claim

The Kimberly Sullivan kidnapping case is a Connecticut criminal prosecution in which a Waterbury woman stands accused of holding her stepson captive in a small locked room for more than 20 years. Sullivan, arrested in March 2025, now faces two counts of first-degree kidnapping and several other felonies after prosecutors upgraded the charges in March 2026. She has pleaded not guilty, remains free on $300,000 bond with GPS monitoring, and her attorney says the defense will accept nothing short of dismissal and intends to go to trial.¹

How the Case Came to Light

On the evening of February 17, 2025, firefighters responded to a blaze at 2 Blake Street in Waterbury. A 32-year-old man trapped in an upstairs room had set the fire himself using hand sanitizer and printer paper. Crews pulled him out. He stood five feet nine inches tall and weighed between 68 and 70 pounds, with matted hair and decaying teeth.² He told first responders, “I wanted my freedom,” and began describing years of confinement and abuse.³

Doctors who treated him after the fire diagnosed wasting syndrome, starvation, smoke inhalation, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression.²

What the Victim Says Happened

According to the arrest warrant and later court filings, the victim told investigators his captivity began when he was about 11 years old, and his first memory of abuse dated to age three. He was pulled out of school in the fourth grade, around 2005, after Sullivan told the district he would be homeschooled.⁴ The last time he left the house, he said, was at 14 or 15.³

He described being confined to an eight-by-nine-foot room with a door locked from the outside. It had no heat and no air conditioning. He said he was given two small sandwiches and about two cups of water a day, and that he was hungry “every day of his life.” Without access to a bathroom, he used straws to push waste through a hole in a window. He received no medical or dental care for more than two decades. He was let out for about one minute a day to let a dog outside, and sometimes for chores.²³

He alleged that conditions grew significantly worse after the death of his father, Kregg Sullivan, in January 2024.⁵

The Charges Against Kimberly Sullivan

Sullivan, 56 at the time, was arrested on March 12, 2025. The original charges were first-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful restraint, cruelty to persons, and first-degree reckless endangerment.³ She posted $300,000 bail the next day and was released. She pleaded not guilty on March 28, 2025.⁵

On March 12, 2026, exactly a year after the arrest, prosecutors filed a substitute information replacing the single second-degree kidnapping count with two counts of first-degree kidnapping. First-degree kidnapping is a class A felony carrying a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison per count. The other charges were left in place.⁶ Waterbury Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Donald Therkildsen alleged that between the summer of 2004 and February 17, 2025, Sullivan abducted and restrained the victim with intent to advance the commission of a felony.¹

Her Defense

Sullivan’s attorney, Ioannis Kaloidis, has called the allegations “flat-out false” and said his client “has done nothing wrong.” He has argued that the victim’s low weight is not proof of starvation, saying his weight “has been an issue since he was a child” and that the matter “was addressed with DCF, with the doctors, and my client was cleared multiple times.”⁷

Kaloidis has also pointed to photographs of the home showing no locked doors, chains, handcuffs, or bars, arguing that the only person claiming physical confinement is the accuser himself.⁷ The defense has further contended that the victim’s late father, Kregg Sullivan, was “in control” of the household and made all decisions about the boy’s care, including putting him in the room and pulling him from school, and that Kimberly was “only carrying out his orders.”⁸

The victim, for his part, told investigators that his father would only allow him out of the room when Kimberly and her daughters were not home, and that after his father’s death his treatment became “much worse.”⁸

Where the Case Stands

Sullivan remains free on $300,000 bond, subject to GPS ankle monitoring and a protective order barring any contact with the victim.⁹ The defense moved to remove the ankle monitor, calling it “unnecessarily burdensome” because of frequent malfunctions; the judge denied the request.¹⁰

In November 2025, a judge granted the defense access to the victim’s new alias and current address, ruling that Sullivan is constitutionally entitled to know the identity of her accuser, while warning her that she is prohibited from sharing that information. Medical records may only be reviewed in the defense attorneys’ offices.⁹ Prosecutor Therkildsen has pushed for tighter conditions, describing the victim as “terrified” and comparing the situation to a domestic violence case.¹¹

At the March 12, 2026 hearing that produced the upgraded charges, the judge ordered the victim’s medical records unsealed for both sides and set an April 30, 2026 date for the parties to begin discussing potential plea offers. Kaloidis has said the defense will not accept any plea deal short of dismissal and intends to take the case to trial. No trial date has been set.¹

Police have said they are still investigating whether additional charges against other individuals are warranted.¹²

How It Went Undetected

One reason the case has drawn so much attention is how long the warning signs went unaddressed. Tom Pannone, who became principal of Barnard Elementary School in 2001, said he and staff contacted the Connecticut Department of Children and Families “dozens of times” between 2001 and 2005 about a boy who was constantly hungry and thirsty. Teachers reported seeing him flush toilets to drink water and regularly brought him food themselves.¹³

DCF initially said it had no records on the family. A later review turned up six reports filed between 1996 and 2005. The agency said investigators at the time interviewed the children separately, found no disclosed abuse, and consulted with the school nurse and a pediatrician. No child was removed. The last documented DCF contact was in 2005. Family members reported that when they raised concerns, DCF told them it had tried to visit the home but could not gain entry, and that the case was then dropped.¹³

Police records show 13 visits to 2 Blake Street before the 2025 fire, but only two involved the victim. During an April 2005 visit prompted by classmates’ concerns, officers noted the child was being homeschooled and said the home appeared in “apparently normal condition.” Days later, the victim’s father filed a harassment complaint against Principal Pannone for repeatedly calling agencies. The boy stopped attending school shortly after, and Pannone said he could find no enrollment records in other districts.¹³ Waterbury Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski said the situation “fell through the cracks.”¹⁴

Civil Claim and Policy Fallout

In February 2026, Kristan Exner, the victim’s attorney and conservator, filed a claim with the state Office of the Claims Commissioner against DCF. It alleges that “had DCF properly investigated the claim, S would have been freed and allowed to live a normal life outside of captivity, without torture or abuse.” It is categorized as a personal-injury claim based on a failure in the agency’s duty of care.¹⁵ Under Connecticut law, the Claims Commissioner must approve the application before any lawsuit against the state can proceed. No formal lawsuit had been filed as of the most recent reports.¹⁶

The case also prompted changes in state policy. The Office of the Child Advocate recommended requiring annual in-person appearances by parents and children when enrolling in homeschooling, mandating independent academic evaluations, and requiring school districts to check for prior abuse or neglect reports before allowing withdrawal for homeschooling.¹⁷ A homeschooling bill was signed into law in May 2026 after contentious debate. Additional proposals under consideration would require public schools to notify DCF when a family withdraws a child, expand DCF training, and create an oversight committee.¹⁸

A separate probate fight surfaced when Sullivan signed a $110,000 contract on March 30, 2026 to sell the vacant Blake Street house to JD Homes LLC. On May 19, 2026, Probate Judge Matthew P. Vaccarelli voided the sale, finding that Sullivan did not represent her late husband’s estate at the time she signed and that JD Homes was not registered with the Connecticut Secretary of the State. The judge refused to appoint Sullivan as fiduciary, citing “grave concerns” about her credibility, and appointed Edward Duffy of Woodbury to manage a new sale.¹⁹

The victim, referred to publicly as “S,” was medically stabilized after the fire and moved to a rehabilitation facility. Years of malnourishment left him needing leg braces and continuing help with mobility.²⁰

1
NBC Connecticut. State Adds Charges Against Waterbury Woman Accused of Holding Stepson Captive for Decades
2
CBS News. Man Captive 20 Years Connecticut Details Stepmother Kimberly Sullivan
3
WFSB. Man Intentionally Starts Fire in Home He Was Held Captive Over 20 Years, Waterbury Escape
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NBC Connecticut. A Look at the Case as Waterbury Woman Accused of Holding Stepson Captive Heads to Court
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CNN. Waterbury Connecticut Stepmom Son Captive Plea
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New Haven Register. Kimberly Sullivan Waterbury Captivity New Charges
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NBC Connecticut. Attorney for Kimberly Sullivan Says Her Son Was Not Held Captive
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People. Father of Man Claiming Stepmom Held Captive Made Decisions About Son’s Care, Claims Lawyer
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Court TV. Kimberly Sullivan Asks Court to Reveal Name Address of Accuser
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WPRI. Judge Rules on 2 Motions in Connecticut Captivity Case
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NBC Connecticut. Judge Grants Woman Accused Holding Stepson Captive Access New Name
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WFSB. Half-Sister of Man Held Captive Over 20 Years Speaks Out
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NBC Connecticut. Decades Unseen: The Waterbury Captivity Case
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CNN. Waterbury Connecticut Man Captive Stepmom
15
Stamford Advocate. Waterbury Kimberly Sullivan Captivity DCF Claim
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NBC Connecticut. Claim Signals Possible Lawsuit in Alleged Waterbury Captivity Case
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CT News Junkie. Senate Republicans Push for Update From DCF in Waterbury Case
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NBC Connecticut. Connecticut Lawmakers Look to Make Changes to DCF Child Welfare
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CT Insider. Kimberly Sullivan Waterbury Captivity Home Sale
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WTNH. Safe Haven Waterbury Captive Progressing in Recovery