Bodycam Shows Moment Man Claiming Stepmom Held Him Captive for 20 Years Is Pulled from House Fire

Days after Kimberly Sullivan, 56, was arrested and charged with assault in the first degree, kidnapping in the second degree, unlawful restraint in the first degree, cruelty to persons and reckless endangerment in the first degree, authorities have released footage of her stepson’s rescue.

In the video, Sullivan can be seen outside her home, as first responders ask her who else is in the home.

“My stepson is in here. I’m trying to have them help him out. That’s it. I have two cats,” she tells the man.

“Everybody’s out?” the officer asks, as she says, “Yes.” He then asks, “But your stepson’s still inside?”

As she says “he’s right there,” a firefighter can be seen coming out the front door, carrying another person. As she shares concern for her “shaking” dog, authorities usher her away from the scene — before the stepson is placed into an ambulance.

Authorities became involved after an emergency call for an active fire at approximately 8:42 p.m. on February 17. That call came from Sullivan, the owner of the property that was aflame.

While the fire was quickly extinguished and Sullivan was able to evacuate of her own will, the other resident in the home, a 32-year-old man, needed assistance from Waterbury Fire Department’s Fire personnel.

He was subsequently treated by emergency medical responders. It was only when police began talking to the man that they uncovered that it was he who had started the fire — and why.

“While receiving medical care [for smoke inhalation], the male victim disclosed to first responders that he had intentionally set the fire in his upstairs room,” officials said in a statement regarding the case.

As for why he started the fire, they said he told them simply, “I wanted my freedom.”

“He further alleged that he had been held captive by Sullivan since he was approximately 11 years old,” the statement continued. According to CBS affiliate WFSB, which shared the full arrest affidavit, the man allegedly spent those years locked inside an 8-foot by 9-foot room.

The alleged victim “lit a fire with some hand sanitizer, some paper from a printer, and he lit that fire while he was locked in that room from the outside,” said a prosecutor in court, per WFSB.

“He lit that fire very well knowing he could die,” the prosecutor continued, “but he had been locked in the room for 20 years, and for 20 years he’d been trying to get out of that room.”

The man’s initial comments triggered an investigation as he was found to be in a “severely emaciated condition,” weighing just 68 pounds, according to WFSB.

“Investigators further discovered that he had been provided with only minimal amounts of food and water which led to his extremely malnourished condition,” the police statement added.

The man purportedly told authorities he was given only two cups of water per day and was sometimes forced to drink out of the toilet. It was also determined he “had not received medical or dental care” during his decades inside the home.

The affidavit further details the man’s allegations that he was pulled from school in the fourth grade and only allowed out of his room to do chores or to let the dog out, spending approximately 22 hours locked in the room.

He further told police he’d had no contact with anyone outside the home, and that the last time he’d left the house was with his now-deceased father when he was 14 or 15 years old. He added that only his two half-sisters and a deceased grandmother knew of his situation.

He said that his fear of losing the minimal food and water he was given, and that he might be locked in even longer, kept him from trying to break out.

As a result of the man’s statement, investigators concluded that the victim had been forced to endure “prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment,” leading to an arrest warrant being issued for Sullivan.

Attorney Ioannis A. Kaloidis said the suspect’s late husband Kregg Sullivan — who died in 2024 — “was in control” of the situation and was the one who decided to confine his son to a 8-foot by 9-foot room starting at the age of 11.

“Ultimately it was the father which dictated the manner in which his son was raised and my client was only carrying out his orders,” Kaloidis told PEOPLE, before also denying the stepson’s claims that he wasn’t allowed to shower. “My client encouraged him to bathe but she is not going to force a 32-year-old man to take care of himself,” Kaloidis said.

The attorney also claimed the man was never locked in his room and left the house daily for chores, like taking the trash. Per Kaloidis, “He could have just walked away then if he wanted to leave.”

“This is just one side of the story and people should not rush to judgment. These allegations are horrific but there are two sides to every story, and my client plans to defend herself against these allegations,” Kaloidis concluded.

While Sullivan’s lawyer is shifting blame to her late husband, the stepson spoke more favorably about him when talking to police about the alleged abuse.

According to Sullivan’s arrest affidavit, the man stated that he would “be let out of his room for longer periods of time by his father” and claimed “that while Sullivan took his sisters to events and to see friends, his father would allow him to come out and watch television with him.”

“When discussing his father dying, he stated that his captivity and restraint got even worse,” said police. “[He] stated that it got to a point where the only time he would ever be out of the house once since his father died was to let the family dog out in the back of the property.”

Sullivan was released Thursday after posting $300,000 bail; she’s due back in court on March 26.

If you are experiencing or witness child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 911.