Kimberly Sullivan case
Ongoing criminal case in Connecticut, US
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The Kimberly Sullivan case is an ongoing criminal case in the United States, involving the alleged decades long abuse of a Waterbury, Connecticut man by his stepmother. Sullivan is accused of starving him and holding him captive in their home for 20 years from the time he was 11 years old until his escape at the age of 31.[4]
8:42 PM[1]
| Kimberly Sullivan case | |
|---|---|
| Location | Waterbury, Connecticut |
| Date | June 2004 - February 17, 2025 8:42 PM[1] |
Attack type | false imprisonment, child abuse |
| Victim | "S"[2] |
| Accused | Kimberly Sullivan |
| Charges | Initial charges: first degree assault, second degree kidnapping, first degree unlawful restraint, cruelty to persons, first degree reckless endangerment Later charges: 2 counts of first degree kidnapping, first degree assault with extreme indifference to human life, first degree unlawful restraint, intentional cruelty to persons.[3] |
On the night of February 17, 2025, the man set his room on fire to escape the captivity, weighing just 68 pounds (31 kg) when he was rescued. Following a police investigation of the fire, Kimberly Sullivan was arrested and charged with first-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful restraint, cruelty to persons and first-degree reckless endangerment, charges that have since been upgraded.
Due to the magnitude of the abuse and its nearly lifelong timeline for the victim, the case has garnered continuous media attention throughout the world. The case has also sparked debates over homeschooling regulations nationwide and has already led to new legislation in Connecticut. Alleged failures to intervene when the man's abuse was reported prior to his captivity have also led to updates to Department of Children and Families (DCF) protocols.
Background
Following a divorce, due to personal struggles she felt would hinder her son, his mother gave full custody to his father, Kregg Sullivan, in the hopes that he would have a better life being raised by him.[5]
Abuse allegations
Pre-captivity
S told police that his earliest memories of being starved and locked in a room were when he was three years old, when he snuck out of his room for food and water when he was hungry. Food wrappings were eventually found, leading Kimberly to begin locking him in his room at night.[6]
He attended elementary school until fourth grade, where his former principal recalled him being noticeably smaller and skinnier than other children his age, as well as bringing an empty, dirty lunchbox to school.[7]
S's former classmates recall clear signs of him being hungry and him often asking other children for food. Many students often complained to the principal and other teachers that S was stealing their food and teachers would often bring food in to feed him.[8]
Captivity
S was allegedly locked in an 8-by-9-foot (2.4 m × 2.7 m)[4] storage space with sloped ceilings, which also had no heat or air conditioning. He was locked in his room for 22 to 24 hours every day, being let out in the morning to do chores. On rare occasions, he was briefly let out in the evening as well.[citation needed]
S was reportedly hit once, when in approximately 2005, he cut a hole in his door and snuck out of his room while he was home alone, going downstairs to eat. Following this, Kimberly slapped him, and his door was secured shut with plywood on both sides in addition to being locked.[6]
He was fed just two sandwiches per day, along with two small bottles of water. When asked, he told the police that he was hungry "all day, every day, my entire life".[6]
Following the death of Kregg in January 2024, S was typically only let out for only one or two minutes per day to let Kimberly's dog out into the yard.[6]
Escape and rescue
Once the fire grew too big for Kimberly to put out on her own, he started stomping and calling for help, telling Kimberly that his radio malfunctioned.[6]
S, who is 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m), weighed only 68 pounds (31 kg) when he was found. Because of his small frame, the firefighters initially thought he was a young teen.[9] A responding officer noted that his ribs and spine were visible, and in a later police interview, S was described as having bones and joints visible in several locations on his body, particularly noting that his clavicle muscles had wasted almost to the point of non-existence. He was described as having long, matted hair, having not had a haircut in over three years. All of his teeth were rotten as well, and S told the police that his teeth broke apart as he ate.[6] He was very dirty, and along with telling first responders about his decades long captivity, he also noted that he hadn’t had a shower in more than a year up to that point.[10]
Kimberly Sullivan's arrest warrant describes S's physical condition as "that of someone who would be at a point at the end of their life", with his skin reportedly graying.[11]
Legal proceedings
On March 12, 2025, Sullivan was arrested and charged with first degree assault, second degree kidnapping, first degree unlawful restraint, cruelty to persons and first degree reckless endangerment. She was released from jail after posting bail of US$300,000.[12] Another hearing on March 26 saw the state file a motion to add GPS monitoring and house arrest as release conditions. Two days later, GPS monitoring was granted as Sullivan pled not guilty to all of the charges.[13]
On July 8, 2025, prosecutors filed a protective order to redact S's new name and treatment location from his medical records, considered a critical piece of evidence.[14] Sullivan and her attorney, Ioannis Kaloidis, were later granted access to S's new identity and address within the medical records on October 31, though another motion to remove her ankle monitoring was denied.[15]
One year after her arrest and initial arraignment, on March 12, 2026, Sullivan was arraigned on enhanced charges, with the charges of first degree assault and reckless endangerment being elevated to first degree assault with extreme indifference to human life.[16] She now faces two counts of first degree kidnapping, which carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison under Connecticut law.[17]
On July 29, Sullivan again appeared in court, and was offered a plea deal of 30 years in prison suspended after serving 20 years. The judge set her own offer of 30 years in prison suspended after serving 10 years. Sullivan rejected both deals.[18]
If convicted on all charges, Sullivan could face over 45 years in prison - a de facto sentence of life without parole.[19]
Impact
Immediately after Kimberly Sullivan's arrest and the news break, Connecticut lawmakers began raising concerns regarding Department of Children and Families protocols, with Republican representative Joseph Polletta particularly concerned with their lack of recordkeeping following the multiple reports filed with DCF regarding S before his captivity. Several representatives met with the state's commissioner of DCF at the time, Jodi Hill-Lilly.[20]
A "months long" internal review by DCF regarding their handling of the case revealed that case workers felt they did not have the evidence to intervene in any of the six reports they received regarding S.[21] Following the review, they made changes to their procedures, including more involvement from superiors in investigations and more visits. A previous law passed in 2018 also reduced the amount of evidence needed to conduct interviews with children without their guardians.[22]
Heavily inspired by the case, on May 4, 2026, the Connecticut General Assembly passed House Bill 5468, requiring all parents of children to submit yearly reports of how their children will be educated. The bill also bars families under DCF investigation from homeschooling their children and families homeschooling for the first time will be checked by DCF.[23]
See also
- List of long-term false imprisonment cases
- Siders case, another alleged case of long term captivity and starvation discovered in 2026
- Turpin case, similar long term captivity case that came to light in 2018