This is some of the worst treatment of a person we've seen.

From the outside, Kimberly Sullivan's life looked normal. She lived in a quiet family home in Waterbury, Connecticut.

But behind those walls, something was very, very wrong.

On February 17, the house went up in flames. Emergency services rushed to the scene. Sullivan escaped unharmed. Her 32-year-old stepson was rescued from the home.

And that's when everything unravelled.

As he received medical attention, he dropped a bombshell.

He started the fire. On purpose.

And the reason why was even more disturbing.

"I wanted my freedom," he told police.

The man, who has not been publicly identified, recounted a hellish tale of decades-long abuse and suffering, allegedly at the hands of his stepmother.

In the weeks following this revelation, his biological mother, who gave up custody of him when he was a baby, said she and her daughter spent years trying to find him.

They were horrified to learn why their efforts were in vain.

When authorities rushed to the Waterbury home, the man alleged he had been held captive by Sullivan since he was 11. It sparked an extensive police investigation that led to Sullivan's arrest on March 12.

"Detectives determined that the victim had been held in captivity for over 20 years, enduring prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment," police said.

"He was found in a severely emaciated condition and had not received medical or dental care during this time. Investigators further discovered that he had been provided with only minimal amounts of food and water which led to his extremely malnourished condition."

A month and a half after the fire, police have released images of the home the young man was kept in. It's not a home fit for a person, not fit for a rat, not even fit for an ant. It's some of the most disturbing imagery we've seen in a long time.

Partially burnt pink walls in the dilapidated room, which became a cage. Image: Waterbury Police Department

The cluttered room where he was kept, with minimal food. Image: Waterbury Police Department

The staircase up to the room. Image: Waterbury Police Department

Boarded up windows separated the man from the outside world. Image: Waterbury Police Department

This is his story.

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A childhood stolen.

An arrest warrant and affidavit, obtained by WFSB and seen by Mamamia, detailed the disturbing allegations.

The man said his earliest memories were of him being hungry. Sneaking out of his room at night to find food. When Sullivan caught him, he said he was locked in his room at night.

At school, he begged classmates for food, stole from lunchboxes, and even ate from the rubbish. Desperate, he drank water from the toilet because he was only given two cups of water per day, he told police.

By fifth grade, Sullivan pulled him out of school. From then on, he was mostly confined to his room except when allowed out for chores, according to police interviews.

The boy's school notified the state Department of Children and Families and while he was in fourth grade, state social workers twice visited the home for wellness checks, he told police.

But Sullivan allegedly coached him to say he was fine.

Watch the moment the man was rescued by firefighters. Post continues below.

Waterbury Police Chief Fred Spagnolo said police first visited the home in 2005 after classmates reported they hadn't seen him, but officers said the house appeared normal.

"It was clean, it was lived in," he said. Spagnolo said police spoke to the boy and found nothing that made them suspect "anything other than a normal childhood".

After the second visit, the family asked to file a harassment complaint against the school district for repeatedly reporting them to authorities.

Sullivan managed to hide the abuse, police said.

The family's 'secret'.

The man told police that captivity was all he had ever known.

At first, he was locked in his bedroom, he said, but eventually Sullivan moved him to a smaller "back storage space".

He was let out for chores, which took between 15 minutes and two hours. On weekends, his father would sometimes let him watch TV while Sullivan and his stepsisters were out, the man told police.

He was never allowed to have friends. The only time he was allowed to have fun was on Halloween. But that stopped aged 12.

While his sisters were allowed to have friends, they were not allowed to visit the home.

"I have been kept a secret my entire life," he told police.

When he was about 14 or 15 years old, his father let him outside to dump yard waste. It was the last time he was allowed outside until his escape, he told police.

After his father died, things got even worse. He said he was locked in his room for up to 24 hours a day and was only allowed outside to let the family dog out — for about one minute a day.

He said Sullivan threatened to cut his already limited food supply if he told anyone about the abuse.

"Under the pain of death, no one was to see me," he said Sullivan told him.

He said Sullivan conditioned him to think she was going to start to unlock his door and let him out more, but only if she trusted him. It never happened.

He tried to educate himself using the four books and a dictionary he was given each year. His only connection to the outside world was a radio outside his room.

Kimberly Sullivan in bodyworn video from attending firefighters. Image: TikTok/wfsbnews.

'I wanted my freedom.'

On February 17, 2025, he made his move.

The man had a lighter he found in his father's old jacket pocket. Used printer paper and hand sanitiser to start the fire.

He recalled falling to the ground as Sullivan yelled at him to get up. But he knew firefighters had to find him. It was his only chance at freedom.

After the fire, an officer who saw the man described him as "extremely emaciated", CNN reports.

He weighed just 31.2kg at 5'9". His hair was matted and all of his teeth looked rotten.

At a press conference, Spangolo said that of his 33 years in law enforcement, "this is the worst treatment of humanity that I've ever witnessed".

"It's shuddering to think that someone would treat any person, let alone a family member or someone who was entrusted with a guardian or parental figure, in this way," he said.

"There's a lot of physical therapy that he'll have to go through. There's a lot of healing that he'll have to go through mentally."

Kimberly Sullivan was arrested and charged with offences including assault, kidnapping and cruelty. Image: AAP.

A mother searching.

As Kimberly allegedly kept the man hidden away, his biological mother was searching for him.

The 52-year-old had been looking for a sign of her son for decades after she gave up custody of him when he was six months old.

"Thirty-two years ago, due to personal reasons, and for the full benefit of my son, I made the gut-wrenching decision to give full custody to my ex-husband," she told WFSB in a statement.

"This was the most painful, emotional decision any mother can make, but I thought he would have a better life. In retrospect, this did not come to pass.

"For the last 30 years, my family and I have searched for him to reconnect only to be turned away and shut out."

Last week, she found out the distressing news from her sister.

"My sister actually called me while I was at work, and she had stated we found [her son]. We found him," the mother, who wants to remain anonymous, told NBC News.

"I'm heartbroken," she added. "I still just can't fathom it. How can anybody treat somebody like that?"

The woman's daughter said she's always been trying to find her half-brother.

"I've been looking for him for over a decade. I wanted to wait till he was 18. I'm almost 35 now. And ... there was nothing. No social media, no court records, no ancestry information, nothing," she said.

The man's biological mother wants everyone in the home where the man was allegedly restrained to face charges.

She hopes to connect with her biological son soon.

"He does have everybody here, on both sides, on both sides of his family, that love him and have looked for him," the mother told NBC.

"He's so strong, and I'm so proud of him for doing what he needed to do. I wish he did it sooner."

Kimberly Sullivan has denied the allegations. Image: AAP.

Kimberly Sullivan 'blown away' by allegations.

Sullivan was arrested on Wednesday and faces charges including assault, kidnapping and cruelty.

She has denied the claims, with her lawyer blaming the victim's late father.

"He was not locked in the room. She did not restrain him in any way. She provided food. She provided shelter," her lawyer, Ioannis Kaloidis, told the court, according to WFSB. "She is blown away by these allegations."

Kaloidis said the stepson's late biological father "dictated how the boy would be raised".

"We think as the evidence comes out, you will see she's not the villain she's being made out to be," Kaloidis added.

On her court appearance on March 13, prosecutors wanted her to wear an ankle monitor and be confined to her home, but the judge released her on supervised release with a probation officer.

She was released on bail to reappear on March 26, when she is expected to plead not guilty.

Feature image: AAP.