Man who held in house of horrors since he was a boy breaks silence

A man whose stepmum allegedly kept him in horrifying captivity since he was a child, abusing him and leaving him to drink from a toilet, has spoken since escaping.

A Connecticut man whose stepmother allegedly held him captive in a house of horrors for more than two decades has released an extraordinary first public statement since he was liberated in February.

The stepmother is accused of keeping the now-32-year-old man in a tiny room since he was a child, starving and abusing him, and leaving him to drink water out of the toilet to survive.

Going only by the name “S” in a statement obtained by News 8, the 32-year-old man — who weighed just 31kg when he intentionally set his room on fire and was rescued by emergency services — said he was getting stronger by the day.

“Please call me ‘S’,” he said in a statement.

“This is not the name given to me by my parents when I was born. I am choosing a new name for myself, and I will use that name as I reclaim control over my life and my future. My name is my choice, and it is the first of many choices I will make for myself now that I am free.

The squalid conditions the man claims he was forced to live in for 20 years. Picture: Waterbury Police Department

“I am a survivor of more than 20 years of captivity and domestic abuse. I was held prisoner in my home from the time I was taken out of the fourth grade at age 11 until two months ago at age 31 when I purposely set the fire that helped set me free.

“I am speaking out today to begin the process of reclaiming my life and to have my say in how my story is told.

The now-32-year-old said he was deprived of water and left to drink water from the toilet to survive. Picture: Waterbury Police Department

“I am much better and stronger than I was the day the first responders carried me out of my

home. I am beyond grateful for the care I have received since then.

“To all the health care professionals who have helped and nurtured me, thank you. In addition to all of your care, I appreciated the chance to have my first ever birthday party to celebrate turning 32.

“I also want to thank the first responders, the law enforcement investigators and everyone who is working to hold those responsible for my abuse accountable.”

S also thanked donors to his GoFundMe page which he said would “help cover some of the overwhelming expenses I will face in the weeks, months and years to come”.

Bodycam footage shows the rescue of the man held captive. Picture: Waterbury Police Department

The man’s stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, 57, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and kidnapping.

She allegedly kept him locked in a roughly 2.4m by 2.7m “back storage space” for more than 20 years, and during that time starved and abused him.

Sullivan often deprived her stepson of basic necessities like water, leaving him forced to drink out of the toilet to stay alive, he told police.

And even before being trapped, as a boy he said he would often resort to stealing classmates’ lunches or scavenging food from garbage cans to stay alive.

He said he managed to escape after 20 years of alleged captivity by intentionally setting fire to the room. Picture: Waterbury Police Department

That behaviour prompted a pair of home visits from the Connecticut Department of Children in the early 2000s, leading Sullivan to yank the boy from school.

Over the years he said he wasn’t allowed to cut his hair or bathe, and would often lose his teeth while chewing on whatever meagre rations he was given.

When his biological father died in 2024, the conditions of his confinement worsened until he set a fire in an attempt to free himself. Emergency services personnel who carried him from the house compared him to a Holocaust survivor.

Sullivan has been freed after posting a $US300,000 ($473,000) bail.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Man who held in house of horrors since he was a boy breaks silence