Peter Lopes and his mother, Paula Depina, said their family lived next door to the Sullivan house, where a man was allegedly held captive by his stepmother for decades, from 2006 to 2009.
"Not one soul forgot about you.”
That’s Peter Lopes’ message to his former next-door neighbor, who was allegedly held captive by his stepmother in their Waterbury home for decades.
Lopes and his mother, Paula Depina, who we spoke with Wednesday, said their family lived next door to the Sullivan house from 2006 to 2009.
Lopes said he always wondered what happened to the boy that lived next door.
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“It never felt right. Even as a kid, it never felt right,” Lopes said.
Police charged Kimberly Sullivan with kidnapping, assaulting and allegedly restraining her stepson for decades until now, at age 32.
When Lopes and his family lived next door in the early 2000s, he said the stepson was never outside and never around other people, saying the stepson was often spotted peering through the window.
"When I was 9, you know, these are little things that you're noticing, but, as you know, a 30-year-old now, I’m looking at it, and it's just there was so many signs,” Lopes said.
Lopes and his siblings attended the now-closed Barnard Elementary School at the same time as the boy, who was only enrolled through fourth grade.
Lopes said he remembers his teachers and principal Tom Pannone asking about the boy and calling home, wondering if the family had seen him, especially when the boy never showed up to fifth grade.
The arrest warrant alleges the Department of Children and Families (DCF) visited the home twice in 2004 and 2005 due to school complaints.
Pannone told us the school reached out to multiple parties for multiple years out of concern.
"All the support that he was getting, it was it was just getting nowhere because someone was just playing a much better game,” Lopes said.
Now, education advocates said the state’s largely unregulated homeschooling system could allow abusive parents to keep their children from public view with no protective oversight.
The victim's stepmother posted bond and is out under "intense supervision." She’s back in court on March 26.
Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury is partnering with the city to collect donations for the victim. The city said donations will help with things like medical and dental care, counseling and housing assistance.
For more information, click here.
