A woman from Connecticut, Kimberly Sullivan, aged 57, has been accused of confining her step-son in a “house of horrors” for nearly 20 years. According to recent reports, she has made a request to a judge to disclose her new identity, which she adopted after escaping her former life.
Records indicate that Sullivan allegedly kept her step-son locked in a shed for up to 22 hours a day since March 1996, when he was just 11 years old. Now 32, he has recounted how he lived on little more than two sandwiches and a bottle of water daily, having received another bottle “for bathing.”
In a court motion, Sullivan argued that she should have the right to confront her accuser, referred to as “S” in the documentation. Her lawyer, Ioannis Karodis, claimed that the prosecution’s case hinges on the idea that accusers can change their identities and locations, while defendants in serious felony cases remain uninformed.
“It’s alarming that they would even think to ask for that,” said Tracy Vallerand, the biological mother of S.
According to police reports, the young man fled his ordeal by igniting a fire at Sullivan’s home in February. He was rescued by authorities and weighed only 68 pounds at the time.
The defense motion has drawn ire from S’s biological mother, who emphatically expressed that the court should ensure Sullivan stays away from her child. She remarked on the situation, stating, “When you consider domestic violence, having someone who has committed such acts near those they’re meant to protect is unacceptable.”
Interestingly, Vallerand had relinquished custody of her son years ago, allowing Sullivan and her ex-girlfriend, who passed away recently, to take responsibility.
Currently, Sullivan is in custody with a bail set at $300,000 and has pleaded not guilty to several serious charges, including assault, kidnapping, and cruelty.
