Waterbury

‘I'm heartbroken': Biological mother of Waterbury victim speaks out

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The biological mother of the man who said he was held captive in a Waterbury home for 20 years speaks out exclusively to NBC Connecticut.

The biological mother of the man who said he was held captive in a Waterbury home for 20 years speaks out exclusively to NBC Connecticut.

The 52-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, was emotional as she spoke to NBC Connecticut on Monday, saying she’d been looking for her son for decades.

She got a call last week from her sister that her son had finally been found, and is distraught to hear of what he’s endured, and the condition he was in.

“We all love him. I love him. He’s so strong, and I’m so proud of him for doing what he needed to do. I wish he did it sooner,” she said.

Her daughter, the victim’s half-sister, said she’d been using social media and other tools to locate him for him for years to no avail.

“I just want him to know that he has a big sister, and I’ve always known he’s existed, and I’ve always loved him, and I’ve always been trying to find him. I’ve been looking for him for over a decade. I wanted to wait until he was 18. I’m almost 35 now. There was nothing…no social media, no court records,” his half-sister said.

The victim’s mother said she’d given up custody when he was a child, but that didn’t stop her from attempting to be in his life.

She said his late father and stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, wouldn’t allow it.

“Neither one of them. I don’t know if she was controlling him,” she said.

Sullivan’s attorneys maintain her innocence, laying the blame on her late husband for how his son was raised.

She said she hopes everyone involved faces charges.

“All of them in that home…need to get…charged, and she needs to actually spend the rest of her life in solitary confinement and fed two cups of water a day,” she said.

She said she hasn’t yet connected with her son, but hopes to in the future.

“He does have everybody here, on both sides, on both sides of his family that love him, and have looked for him…I’m heartbroken,” she said. “I still just can’t fathom it. How can anybody treat somebody like that?”

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