MOVE over, Cinderella! A 32-year-old Connecticut man’ s stepmother was so wicked, she allegedly held him captive for 20 years! The victim, who suffered from life-threatening malnourishment, told police that he had been imprisoned in a 9-x-8-foot storage space all day, every day, without heat or air conditioning for more than two decades by his stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan. When he was rescued, the 5-foot-9 man weighed only 68 pounds. He was dirty, his hair was matted and all his teeth appeared rotten, officials say. According to a warrant, he was given only two sandwiches— egg salad, tuna salad or peanut butter— and two small water bottles every day.“ Thirty-three years of law enforcement, this is the worst treatment of humanity that I’ ve ever witnessed,” Waterbury Police Chief Fred Spagnolo said. The captive finally hatched a plan to escape by deliberately setting a fire using printer paper and hand sanitizer, hoping firefighters would rescue him. When they arrived, they discovered the victim, who had to be helped from the house. Authorities say the boy was pulled out of school at age 11, after teachers reported his case to Family and Children’ s Services because he was so underweight, constantly begging for

Sullivan has been charged with assault, kidnapping and cruelty

Waterbury police arrested Kimberly Sullivan

food, and was found drinking from a urinal. The victim said Sullivan, now 56, told him to claim he was okay when investigators questioned him. The inquiry was then apparently dropped. The maleficent stepmom has been charged with assault, kidnapping and cruelty, police say. But her attorney, Ioannis

The victim set a fire to bring help

Kaloidis, insists the allegations are“ absolutely not true.” The victim has undergone medical treatment, but experts believe he likely has a long way to go before he can resume a normal life.

Waterbury Police Chief Fred Spagnolo

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