Latest news with #ConnecticutDepartmentofChildrenandFamilies
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
Connecticut leaders to discuss link between child and animal abuse
NEWINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) — Gov. Ned Lamont will highlight how the state stops child and animal abuse on Wednesday. He says there's often a link between the two, and that being used to identify new cases. This is all in recognition of Child Abuse Awareness Month and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. State leaders remind residents of road safety on National Work Zone Awareness Week Governor Lamont will join animal welfare advocates at 11 a.m. at a news conference in Newington. He'll be highlighting the 'proactive' work among Connecticut state agencies to 'cross-report' accounts of animal cruelty and potential child abuse in households where these reports have occurred. The state says numerous studies show a strong correlation between animal abuse, child maltreatment, and other forms of interpersonal violence, including domestic violence and elder abuse. This correlation is often referred to as 'the link.' In recent years, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families and the Connecticut Department of Agriculture have been working together, using this 'link' to collaborate on work and identify more of these offenses. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Man accused of sexually assaulting 14-year-old girl in CT extradited from New Hampshire
A man was extradited from New Hampshire last week to face charges alleging he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in Connecticut last April. Michael Parkinson, 39, of Claremont, New Hampshire was extradited on Friday and charged with second-degree sexual assault and illegal sexual contact with a victim under 16, according to the Connecticut State Police. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the girl disclosed the allegations to a therapist two days after the alleged incident, but she would not immediately identify who sexually assaulted her. The therapist notified the Connecticut Department of Children and Families before the agency alerted the state police. On May 2, 2024, the girl told a school counselor she was ready to identify who assaulted her and alleged that Parkinson had abused her, the warrant affidavit said. During a forensic interview at the Child Advocacy Center in New London several days later, the girl told officials that the alleged incident took place on April 20, 2024, during a sibling's 11th birthday party in Colchester. The girl said Parkinson walked in on her in the bathroom and asked to lift her hoodie, but she told him no, the warrant affidavit said. She said he later entered her bedroom where she was lying in bed and 'plopped' down next to her, according to the warrant affidavit. The girl claimed that Parkinson asked if it was OK to move her hand and she agreed, but she alleged that he took her hand and put it in his pants, the warrant affidavit said. The girl claimed that her brother then walked by in the hallway and Parkinson allegedly asked him to come in and turn the lights off, which he did before leaving, according to the warrant affidavit. The teen alleged that Parkinson touched her inappropriately, the warrant affidavit said. The girl then alleged he encouraged her multiple times to get on her back in an attempt to sexually assault her, but she told him no each time, according to the warrant affidavit. The teen claimed that Parkinson had never tried assaulting her before the incident, according to the warrant affidavit. She alleged he would sometimes put his hand up her shirt when she was in the basement and that her mother would be in the room at times and not know it was happening, the warrant affidavit said. The girl said she never told anyone about what happened in the basement. During the investigation, the girl's mother turned over the teen's diary to police after finding an entry detailing the alleged assault. In it, the girl wrote that Parkinson allegedly tried assaulting her and that he had been acting 'weird' the past few months and was touching her, according to the warrant affidavit. The girl said she knew what was going to happen the moment he asked someone to turn off the lights, the warrant affidavit said. In the diary entry, the teen said she conducted a Google search to find out what it was called when someone touched her the way she alleges she was touched, according to the warrant affidavit. She said the search turned up 'sexual assault,' which was defined as someone touching one of multiple parts of someone's anatomy without consent, 'which he definitely did to all of them,' she wrote. 'I just feel like he has some untamed sexual desires because stooping so low as a 14-year-old girl? thats (sic) a little messed up,' the diary entry read, according to the warrant affidavit. 'I think he is 38 which is a 24-year age difference.' The girl alleged in her diary entry that Parkinson asked if he could take a photo of her, the warrant affidavit said. The mother obtained a protective order against Parkinson on May 28, 2024, that was put in effect for a year, the warrant affidavit said. He allegedly called her about two weeks later and left her a voicemail. 'Hey, just wanted to say I love you and I regret everything I've ever done and I want you to know if I could change it I would,' Parkinson allegedly said, according to the warrant affidavit. Investigators said they recorded the voicemail as evidence. According to the warrant affidavit, Parkinson left Connecticut after the incident and went to New Hampshire. On June 11, 2024, he was arrested after sending text messages to family members saying he had a firearm, which was a violation of the protective order, the warrant affidavit said. Parkinson was arrested by officers with the Claremont Police Department in New Hampshire. In their report, police said he was found with a firearm and was also charged with contacting the mother in violation of the order, the warrant affidavit said. State police had authorities in New Hampshire ask Parkinson if he would be willing to speak about the allegations, but he declined, the warrant affidavit said. During a text message conversation with a friend, Parkinson was encouraged to continue seeking therapy so he never does anything to 'hurt another soul again,' the warrant affidavit said. After affirming that it would never be an issue again, the friend asked him why it was a problem in the first place, according to the warrant affidavit. 'It wasn't and that's what bothers me the most,' he allegedly responded, the warrant affidavit said. 'It wasn't even sexually driven. I had no interest in (redacted) but still I did it and I can't determine why.' Parkinson later on in the conversation allegedly went on to say he has suppressed 'it' for 22 years and has been in and out of therapy, the warrant affidavit said. He also went on to say that he could not apologize for what he did because it would lead to his arrest, according to the warrant affidavit. Screenshots of the conversation were turned over to state police investigators. Parkinson was held on a $250,000 bond following his arrest and was expected to appear in Norwich Superior Court on Monday.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Yahoo
CT middle school employee on leave after students allegedly find their photos on adult website
A faculty member at a middle school in Hamden has been placed on leave after students allegedly found their photos on an adult website. School officials said the incident unfolded on Monday during dismissal when administrators discovered that students had allegedly found images of a faculty member on an adult website and shared them among other students, Hamden Middle School Principal Michelle G. Coogan said in a letter to the school community. Coogan said school officials filed a report with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families and placed the faculty member on leave while an investigation is conducted. The faculty member has not been identified. 'We ask parents to review internet safety with their children this evening, including the importance of using safe websites and engaging in responsible behavior on social media, Coogan said. 'We also ask that you monitor your child's personal technology, including photographs, Internet searches and social media activity, and encourage families to have open conversations about how to respond if children encounter harmful or inappropriate materials online,' Coogan said. 'By working together, we can help protect our children and guide them in becoming responsible digital citizens.'
CBS News
28-03-2025
- CBS News
Connecticut woman accused of holding stepson captive must wear GPS tracker, judge says
A woman accused of holding her stepson captive for 20 years was ordered to wear a GPS monitor as a condition of her bail, a Connecticut judge ruled Friday. Kimberly Sullivan, 56, entered a not guilty plea at the hearing two weeks after Waterbury Police arrested her on charges of kidnapping her 32-year-old stepson, who was found emaciated during a fire at her home. The judge ordered Sullivan to submit to GPS tracking while denying the prosecution's request to place her under house arrest. Sullivan had previously appeared in court on Wednesday , but the judge did not allow to her enter a plea and gave her lawyers two days to respond to the motion to modify her bail. She is charged with kidnapping, unlawful restraint, cruelty and reckless endangerment. Her next court date is in late April. Sullivan's stepson allegedly started the fire on Feb. 17 in an attempt to draw first responders to the house where he claims he was being held captive. "I wanted my freedom," the man said, according to police . The man weighed just 69 pounds when first responders discovered him in a small room. He told investigators Sullivan had imprisoned in the room since he was approximately 11 years old. He claimed his stepmom never took him to a doctor or dentist and gave him barely enough food to survive. "He was, without exaggeration, akin to a survivor of Auschwitz's death camp," the prosecutor said. Sullivan was in charge, the man told investigators, but his father, who died in 2024, and stepsisters knew about his treatment. Waterbury Police and the Connecticut Department of Children and Families did welfare checks on the home 20 years ago, when he was first removed from school, but critics claim there were no follow-ups, which allowed the alleged abuse to unfold. Tony Aiello contributed to this report.
CNN
23-03-2025
- CNN
A young man emerged from a burning house after decades of alleged captivity. His city is now reckoning with the fallout
'It's just enough already,' a woman says, standing in front of her neatly trimmed home. She shakes her head and gestures toward the line of news vans parked outside 2 Blake Street before abandoning her gardening tools in the front yard and retreating into the house. 2 Blake Street – or Waterbury's 'house of horrors,' as it's been branded by some – has captured the nation's interest since a 32-year-old man lit a fire there last month to escape the place where police say he endured more than 20 years of captivity, abuse and starvation at the hands of his stepmother. On the other end of Blake Street, 39-year-old Marvin McCullough is more obliging to the brigade of journalists parked outside his home. He's talked to a few about the seemingly normal family that lived in the worn, two-story white house with pale blue details facing his: They mostly kept to themselves, filing in and out over the years – the stepmother, her late husband, her two daughters, their friends. McCullough never saw signs another person was living there, he says – let alone being held captive, as police and court documents assert. This is a quiet neighborhood, he continues – at least it used to be. McCullough says he last saw the stepmother the day after the fire, when she told him, 'I just want to get out of here.' When detectives were still hanging around the house a week later, he realized there was more to it. Since 57-year-old Kimberly Sullivan's arrest this month on charges including kidnapping, assault and cruelty, McCullough says he's seen more traffic up and down his street than in the eight years he's lived here. People want to see the house from the headlines up close. Sullivan is set to be arraigned Wednesday, and her lawyers have said they plan to enter not guilty pleas on her behalf. Sullivan 'maintains her innocence,' one attorney has said, adding the allegations against her are 'absolutely not true.' Still, the leaders of this small city between Hartford and New York are contending with a hunger for accountability from residents who see the tragedy as a failure to protect one of their own. And when the spectators and news vans pull out of Blake Street every evening, people here are left to reckon with the allegations of abuse that unfolded behind closed doors in the now-boarded-up house overlooking Chase Park. Neighbors, faith leaders, the mayor – they all have memories of that park: playing tennis, walking their dogs, marveling up at the fireworks in the distance on the Fourth of July. So much life happened there – a whole world waiting on the other side of the street, just out of reach. The 32-year-old survivor's last reported connection to this world was just half a mile from his house, at Barnard Elementary School. The aging brick schoolhouse on Draher Street is now an adult education center that still bears the grade school's name. Former Barnard Principal Tom Pannone and his team called the Connecticut Department of Children and Families at least 20 times years ago with concerns about the well-being of their then-student, he told NBC Connecticut. The agency has 'looked extensively' at its databases and not found any records related to the family, it told CNN, adding its policy is to expunge records five years after completing an investigation, 'provided there are no other substantiated reports.' Related video 'My stepson is in the house:' Video shows moments after police rescue man allegedly held captive for 20 years Brendalis Medina, 31, a former student at Barnard Elementary, remembers sitting in fourth grade class next to a young boy who appeared to be struggling, she says. He often seemed hungry and would ask the other kids for food. Her seatmate was timid and small – even for his age – she says. He was pale, with yellowed teeth and dirty clothes that didn't quite fit him, and he sometimes spoke with a stutter. 'Some kids would make fun of him because he was different, he looked different,' she recalls. When she heard recently about the harrowed man who told responders he set his Blake Street house on fire, it hit her: He could be the young boy she remembers from her class. 'I got chills all over my body,' she says. 'I couldn't even sleep that night.' Medina has been in tears, playing it back in her head – the moments she would turn to her right and see the boy crying, the lunch periods when she shared her food with him, she says. When all the other kids rushed home at the end of the day, he would linger in the classroom, she says, sometimes just sitting down and putting his head on the desk. 'It was very apparent there was something wrong,' Medina says. Medina moved away after fourth grade, but she still has family in Waterbury, including her cousin, the Rev. Kendrick Medina, who says the community has been astir over the emaciated man who emerged from the flames. Rev. Medina, also 31, thinks about the milestones he's experienced growing up in Waterbury – school, sports, graduation, raising kids of his own – while this young man's world appears to have stopped turning as a child. The faith leader's peers are especially struck by the unfairness of it all, he says, standing in his front yard, strewn with small toy cars, a scooter and a toddler-sized slide. 'I would just say that we have to be more intentional with the next generation,' he says. 'If we want a better Waterbury, then it really starts with us.' When the boy's family pulled him out of school, police say, his world narrowed. He told detectives his stepmother kept him locked in a room, fed him very little and only allowed him out to perform chores and on Halloween. The last time he went trick-or-treating he was 12, he told police. He dressed up as a firefighter. Waterbury Deputy Fire Chief Bob Stoeckert was incident commander the night of the fire. He escorts a couple local journalists out of the spacious fire station, light streaming in through high windows onto the engines inside, before settling in to yet again recount one of the most significant rescues of his nearly four decades as a firefighter. There's no such thing as a 'normal' fire, he begins. But when he arrived on Blake Street on February 17, it appeared to be a routine response. Engine 11 was first on the scene, and when a member of the crew came out of the home carrying a 5-foot-9, 68-pound person covered in soot, Stoeckert assumed he was a young teenager. 'I didn't think the victim was in good shape at all, and I was very surprised a couple minutes later to hear from the police sergeant that he was talking in the back of the ambulance,' the deputy chief says. What the young man told responders was even more of a surprise: 'I wanted my freedom.' 'Over my 37-year career, we've had plenty of arson fires, but this is the first time I've ever heard that someone lit a fire to be rescued from their confinement,' Stoeckert says. 'To start a fire in a room that small, just hoping that we were going to get there in time to get him out – that …' he takes a long pause, 'It's a different feeling.' 'In his last moments of captivity, in his last acts of desperation, he thought of one agency that could save his life, and that was the Waterbury Fire Department – and they did just that,' city police Detective Steve Brownell says. As detectives searched the house in the days after the fire, evidence of the incredulous story the young man told in the back of the ambulance began to emerge. There's one image Brownell says he can't shake: the locks on the door to the 8 foot by 9 foot storage space where he was kept. 'He tells a story, an unwavering story,' he says. 'You do your follow-up investigation to try to corroborate what somebody may be telling you, and then you walk to an area where he's saying he's being held – and there you see it.' Detectives took up a collection and shopped for some things the man might need – clothes, books, puzzles to pass the time – then put together a care package, complete with gift bags and tissue paper, Brownell says. 'It's embarrassing to talk about,' he says. 'We don't put these things together for the publicity of it.' Having seen the conditions the young man was living in, Brownell wondered, 'Does he even know how to receive a gift?' Related video 'Worst treatment of humanity': Police chief on man allegedly held captive for 20 years It turns out, he does. 'He's appreciative. It put a smile on his face. He was very curious,' he says of the sweet, friendly person who greeted him with a warm smile in the hospital. 'He's just kind of staring at it, like, 'What could be in there?'' Sitting on the third floor of Waterbury's bustling police station, Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo says he understands people want answers. His officers have been fielding their barrage of queries at community meetings. He plans to meet soon with the commissioner of the state Children and Families Department. 'I feel responsible for the safety of this community and safety of the people in the community,' he says. Spagnolo, who took the helm of the department in 2018, insists the police played this case by the book, even all those years ago. And while the child services agency may not have kept their records from that time, his department did. Waterbury officers contacted the family on April 1 and 18 in 2004. They talked with the boy and found nothing that made them suspect 'anything other than a normal childhood' was unfolding inside the home, the chief told reporters this month. There's ultimately one person responsible for the young man's abuse, he says, and they arrested her. 'But it doesn't make me feel less responsible for what occurred,' he says. 'You know, that's our job. Our job is to protect the people in this community, so in some senses – in this particular case – we weren't able to do that.' About half a mile away, Waterbury Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. sits in a large, stately office, with tall windows overlooking the street. In an ornate golden frame behind him hangs a painting of the city's green space from a bygone era. Waterbury was still a heavily industrial town when he was young, he begins, known for its brass mills. He pauses – to take a call from his mom, who's been having trouble with her furnace. She still lives in the house where he grew up. This is a family-oriented community, he explains, and even though Waterbury is the fifth-largest city in Connecticut, it feels like a small town. 'I think it's really been heartbreaking for people to think this was going on under their noses, and nobody was aware of it,' he says. But people were aware the boy's well-being was in question: family members, educators, the state child services agency, the police department. The reporting requirements for school officials who suspect abuse have become stricter in the last 20 years, Pernerewski notes. 'But once you take a child out of the school system in Connecticut, the contact ends,' he says. 'There's no requirement for follow up. There's no interaction.' Since Sullivan's arrest, there have been calls for a state-level investigation and a closer examination of its safety net for children, including homeschooling practices, around which there is little or no regulation, according to a 2018 Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate report. 'I think it would be helpful for kids who are homeschooled to have more benchmarks that they have to meet, so that there's more of a connection,' the mayor says. What happened at 2 Blake Street was a tragedy, Pernerewski says. But, he adds, it was a one-off: 'It's not what Waterbury's about.' Many in the community still don't know the young man's name, but they've thrown their weight behind him. Residents have offered to help with his care. Some say they plan to come out to demonstrate their support for him when his stepmother has her day in court. And to date, a fundraiser organized by Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury, a non-profit that serves people facing domestic violence, has raised over $134,000 to help him recover.
