First feedback from man who says he was held captive in Conn. dwelling

A person who informed police that he was held captive in a Connecticut dwelling by his father and stepmother and given restricted meals for 20 years earlier than being rescued is thanking medical workers for holding what he known as his first-ever party as he turned 32.

In his first public feedback on Tuesday, he additionally stated he desires individuals to be held chargeable for what occurred to him. And he plans to vary his identify as he begins to take cost of his life and recovers each bodily and mentally.

A nonprofit group, Survivors Say, launched an announcement by the person, who was pulled by firefighters on Feb. 17 from a burning Waterbury dwelling that police say he set on fireplace in a determined try to win his freedom. Survivors Say says it provides assist and assets to survivors, victims and households after tragedies.

“Please name me ‘S,’ ” the assertion begins. “This isn’t the identify given to me by my dad and mom after I was born. I’m selecting a brand new identify for myself, and I’ll use that identify as I reclaim management over my life and my future. My identify is my selection, and it’s the first of many selections I’ll make for myself now that I’m free.”

The person hung out in a hospital and was later moved to a different care middle after being rescued from the house, the place he stated he was saved locked in a small room most of day by day and never given sufficient meals since he was 11. He weighed solely about 69 kilos when he was dropped at the hospital, the place medical doctors informed police the person was extraordinarily malnourished and had different well being and improvement issues.

His stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, has been charged with kidnapping, felony assault, cruelty to individuals and different crimes. She and her lawyer have denied that she saved the person locked up, and she or he has pleaded not responsible. Sullivan informed police that the person was free to maneuver about the home as he happy, in keeping with an arrest warrant. The person’s father died final 12 months.

“I’m a survivor of greater than 20 years of captivity and home abuse,” the person stated within the assertion. “I used to be held prisoner in my dwelling from the time I used to be taken out of the fourth grade at age 11 till two months in the past at age 31 after I purposely set the hearth that helped set me free.”

“I’m talking out in the present day to start the method of reclaiming my life and to have my say in how my story is informed,” he stated.

A spokesperson for Survivors Say, David Guarino, stated it supplies assist to survivors and victims at no cost. He declined additional remark and referred to the person’s assertion.

The person informed his story to police after his rescue. He stated he was locked within the small room with no warmth or air con for many of day by day, allowed out solely briefly to do chores, and was hungry on a regular basis. He acquired no medical or dental care, and plenty of of his enamel had been decayed, police stated.

He was unenrolled from Waterbury’s public faculty system in 2004, after his father and stepmother complained that college officers had been reporting issues about his well-being to the state Division of Kids and Households.

Police visited the house twice on the time and reported no issues. The Division of Kids and Households additionally visited the house, however the man stated Sullivan informed him to say all the pieces was tremendous, in keeping with the arrest warrant. He additionally stated Sullivan threatened him with even much less meals if he ever informed anybody about what was occurring in the home.

State and native authorities have been trying into how this might have occurred, and a few are calling for stricter oversight of homeschooling and a evaluation of the company’s actions.

The person stated he’s feeling significantly better and stronger. He thanked quite a lot of individuals, from first responders to medical care professionals to individuals and teams serving to him recuperate. He stated medical workers organized his first-ever party just lately.

He additional thanked Protected Haven of Higher Waterbury, which helps victims of home abuse and sexual assault. The group has been elevating cash for his care, accumulating just below $270,000 on a GoFundMe web page. The cash that can go towards his medical and dental care, counseling and remedy, dwelling bills and anticipated authorized charges, the group stated.

“I ask everybody concerned in my story to totally cooperate with the authorities who’re serving to me search justice for these crimes,” he stated. “I additionally ask the general public and the media to respect these investigations and my privateness as this course of performs out. This isn’t only a story. It’s my life.”

He additionally thanked the general public for his or her ideas, messages, assist and prayers.