A Waterbury girl allegedly held her stepson captive for 20 years, offering little meals and water, and a former college principal is talking out and mentioned the college reported issues.
“We knew it. We reported it. Not a rattling factor was performed. That is the tragedy of the entire thing,” Tom Pannone, the previous principal of the now-closed Barnard Elementary Faculty in Waterbury, mentioned.
The sufferer, who’s now 32, weighed solely 68 kilos when he escaped by setting fireplace to the home, officers mentioned.
He advised police that his stepmom, 56-year-old Kimberly Sullivan, held him captive since he was round 11 years outdated. A state prosecutor known as the case “something out of a horror movie.”
Pannone hasn’t seen the alleged sufferer since he was in fourth grade within the early 2000s, however mentioned he at all times knew one thing was flawed.
Police revealed that the boy had “endured prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect and inhumane treatment.”
Pannone mentioned he and his workers observed that the kid was extraordinarily small and skinny. He mentioned after they requested him questions, the boy advised them he wasn’t allowed meals at occasions at residence.
“Everybody actually was involved with this youngster since he was 5 years outdated. You knew one thing was flawed. It was grossly flawed,” Pannone mentioned.
He mentioned lecturers would even convey meals in for the scholar after noticing him stealing meals and consuming out of the rubbish, saying he was always hungry.
Pannone advised NBC Connecticut he and his workforce made a number of calls to the boy’s stepmom, Kimberly Sullivan, and known as the Division of Kids and Households (DCF) no less than 20 occasions.
The arrest warrant mentioned the scholar was advised to lie and say all the pieces was positive. By fifth grade, he by no means got here again to high school.
You do not disappear off the face of the Earth at 10 years outdated.
Tom Pannone
Pannone was advised the scholar enrolled in Wolcott Public Faculties, however he couldn’t discover any report of that. He was additionally advised at one level that the boy was homeschooled.
In response to prosecutors, Sullivan is accused of maintaining her stepson locked in an 8-foot-by-9-foot room with no warmth or air-con.
An arrest warrant states there was a slide bolt lock on the skin of the door body, and it was used to lock the door from the skin.
Paulina Depina mentioned she lived subsequent door to the Sullivan residence from 2003 to 2009.
“We most likely noticed that man thrice outdoors,” Depina mentioned.
She mentioned she would see Kimberly, the late husband, and two daughters, however would not see the stepson as usually. When she did catch a glimpse, she mentioned what she noticed was deeply troubling.
“I’m trembling proper now simply excited about it as a result of I can bear in mind his face,” Depina mentioned.
As for neighbors now, many advised us they barely noticed the stepson, or had no concept he even existed.
“By no means seen a stepson, by no means,” neighbor Marvin McCullough mentioned.
“It is surprising not realizing what’s going round you,” Samuel Rivera, one other neighbor, mentioned.
A Waterbury girl is accused of holding her stepson captive for 20 years and offering little water and little meals.
Pannone mentioned he feels anger listening to that his former pupil allegedly was pushed so exhausting he needed to set fireplace to his own residence to flee.
“I hope the student remembers the staff at Barnard School and how much they really loved him,” Pannone said. “Sorry we couldn’t do more. Because you went through more than any of us ever will go through with our lives.”
NBC Connecticut reached out to DCF who say they’re unable to offer any particulars resulting from confidentiality legal guidelines.
Police obtained a warrant for Sullivan on Tuesday and she or he was taken into custody on Wednesday.
She faces prices together with assault within the first diploma, kidnapping within the second diploma, illegal restraint within the first diploma, cruelty to individuals and reckless endangerment within the first diploma.
Officers are anticipated to present one other replace on this case Thursday morning.
