Attorney for ‘house of horrors' mom denies stepson held captive
(NewsNation) — The defense attorney for a Connecticut woman accused of keeping her stepson captive for 20 years pushed back on the allegations Friday and said prosecutors will have to prove their case in court with testimony from the alleged victim.
Kimberly Sullivan is out on bond and faces several charges, including kidnapping and unlawful restraint, after her adult stepson set fire to their Waterbury home Feb. 17.
Police say the 32-year-old man, who has not been identified publicly, weighed 68 pounds and claimed to have been locked away in cruel and filthy conditions since he was a child.
Mother of man rescued from Connecticut 'House of Horrors': 'I love you'
Sullivan's defense attorney, Ioannis Kaloidis, appearing on 'Banfield,' said there is another side to the story.
'She is shocked that everyone has condemned her and automatically believed everything that has come out,' he said of his client. 'She's blown away.'
Kaloidis rebutted several allegations, including claims that the stepson had been 'restrained' in the home.
'There are exterior locks on almost every door inside that house, and those locks predated my client ever moving in the house,' he said. 'The presence of the lock doesn't prove anything, is not illegal.'
As to the weight of the stepson, Kaloidis said he was historically underweight as a child.
'The weight itself doesn't prove anything,' he said. 'The state still has to connect the dots. What they're claiming is his weight was this because she starved him.'
Stepmother accused of holding stepson captive appears in court
The stepson, Kaloidis added, 'is going to have to get on that stand and convince a jury that that is the cause and effect.'
Sullivan's late husband, the boy's father, was the custodial parent, the attorney said.
'She did not prevent him ever from going to the doctor. His father called the shots,' Kaloidis said.
The stepson released a public statement this week through a nonprofit group, Survivors Say, in which he thanked medical professionals and others for helping him over the past several weeks. He referred to himself as 'S.'
'I am choosing a new name for myself, and I will use that name as I reclaim control over my life and my future. My name is my choice, and it is the first of many choices I will make for myself now that I am free,' the statement said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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