More than $112,000 was raised for a 32-year-old man who was allegedly captured in his stepmother's Connecticut home.
At least 2,000 people have already been donated to an online fundraiser launched by Safe Haven in Greater Waterbury to raise $120,000. To support the 32-year-old who has endured unimaginable difficulties.
Cash helps cover his medical and dental treatment, counseling, emotional and physical recovery, counselling for housing and living, counseling for legal costs, and treatment costs, allowing him to “follow justice for the abuse he suffered.”
“Every donation, no matter how small, will help this survivor have the opportunity to heal, rebuild, and find peace,” the fundraiser promises.
The victim's name has not been made public – told authorities he'd spent the past 20 years locked up in a 9-by-8-foot storage space in an aging Waterbury home.
He weighs only 69 pounds, and witnesses said he appears to have just left the concentration camp.
The abuse that the man endured in his stepmother's hands left law enforcement officials to call it “the worst treatment of humanity I've ever seen.”
He ultimately attempted a breakout on February 17th. He purposely burned the house using hand sanitizer, printer paper, and a lighter he found in his late father's mother's hand.
When the fire department responded to the scene, they saved a weakened man who had shockedly weighed 68 pounds. He was treated for smoke inhalation.
Investigators also discovered a room in the house where the door appears to have an exterior lock when they learned that the 32-year-old man had been held there since he was 11 years old.
“I wanted my freedom,” he told them.
His stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, was arrested last week and faces charges that include first-degree attacks, second-degree lures, first-degree illegal detention, atrocities against others and first-degree reckless dangers.
She was released a day later after posting $300,000 bail.
Her attorney said she plans to plead not guilty to her next court appearance scheduled for March 26th.
