Connecticut Stepmother in Alleged Two‑Decade Captivity Case Hit With Updated Kidnapping and Abuse Charges

Connecticut prosecutors have filed updated charges against 57‑year‑old Kimberly Sullivan of Waterbury, accused of keeping her stepson captive in a storage closet for much of two decades, beginning when he was 11 years old in March 1996. According to court records, the revised filing includes two counts of first‑degree kidnapping as well as assault, intentional cruelty to persons, and unlawful restraint that mirror earlier charges but are restructured to reflect new information in the case. The victim, identified only as "S" in court documents, told investigators he was confined about 22 hours a day, fed two sandwiches and one water bottle daily with a second bottle for "bathing," and weighed just 68 pounds when he set fire to the Waterbury home in February 2025 to escape and was rescued by firefighters. Sullivan’s attorney, Ionnis Kaloidis, insists the allegations "weren’t true then" and "aren’t true now," and has successfully obtained a court order granting Sullivan access to S’s new identity, medical records, and address, a move the man’s biological mother has publicly condemned as endangering a domestic‑violence victim. Sullivan, who has pleaded not guilty, remains free on $300,000 bond while awaiting trial, and the case is fueling debate over how courts balance a defendant’s discovery rights with long‑term victim safety in extreme abuse prosecutions.