A man from Connecticut that officials say he was held captive by his stepmother for more than two decades is speaking publicly for the first time from the fire that led to his freedom.
“I am a survivor of more than 20 years of captivity and domestic abuse,” said the 32 -year -old who identified himself as “S” in a statement prepared on Tuesday. “I was a prisoner in my house from the moment they took me out of the fourth grade at age 11 until two months ago at 31, when I put on the fire that helped me to release.”
The Waterbury Police Department confirmed that the statement came from the person who was rescued at the end of this winter.
The man added that “s” was not the name they gave him at birth, but said that deciding to be approached in this way marks “the first of many options” that he will do now that he is free.
S told the authorities that they responded to the Waterbury house on February 17 that on the way I set fire in his room. It was carried out from the house by the lifeguards.
His stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, 56, has been accused of first degree assault and second -degree kidnapping. She declared herself innocent of the charges.
A lawyer from Sullivan did not immediately respond to a request for comments on Tuesday.
S said in his statement that he is talking to begin to claim his life and comment on how his story is told.
“It has already been said a lot that part of the history of the abuse I endured,” S. “Someday, maybe my story will be told.”
The man also provided an update on his condition, saying that he is “much better and stronger” than when he was taken from his home. He added that he had his “first birthday party to celebrate the 32 -year -old compliments.”
“I ask all those involved in my history that cooperate completely with the authorities that help me seek justice for these crimes,” S. “I also ask the public and the media to respect those investigations and my privacy as this process develops. This is not just a story. It is my life.”
