Stepmom Accused of Keeping Son Captive for 20 Years Puts Blame on Man’s Dead Father: Lawyer

Kimberly Sullivan, 56, is accused of holding her unnamed 32-year-old stepson captive in her home for the past two decades. The suspect was arrested on Wednesday, and charged with assault in the first degree, kidnapping in the second degree, unlawful restraint in the first degree, cruelty to persons and reckless endangerment in the first degree.

The alleged abuse was discovered after authorities responded to a fire in the home — which Sullivan’s 32-year-old stepson, who weighed just 68 pounds, said he “intentionally” started as a means to “freedom.”

Attorney Ioannis A. Kaloidis said Kregg Sullivan — who died in 2024 — “was in control” of the situation and was the one who decided to confine his son to a 8-foot by 9-foot room starting at the age of 11.

“Ultimately it was the father which dictated the manner in which his son was raised and my client was only carrying out his orders,” Kaloidis told PEOPLE, before also denying the stepson’s claims that he wasn’t allowed to shower. “My client encouraged him to bathe but she is not going to force a 32-year-old man to take care of himself,” Kaloidis said.

The attorney also claimed the man was never locked in his room and left the house daily for chores, like taking the trash. Per Kaloidis, “He could have just walked away then if he wanted to leave.”

“This is just one side of the story and people should not rush to judgment. These allegations are horrific but there are two sides to every story, and my client plans to defend herself against these allegations,” Kaloidis concluded.

While Sullivan’s lawyer is shifting blame to her late husband, the stepson spoke more favorable about him when talking to police about the alleged abuse.

According to Sullivan’s arrest affidavit, the man stated that he would “be let out of his room for longer periods of time by his father” and claimed “that while Sullivan took his sisters to events and to see friends, his father would allow him to come out and watch television with him.”

“[He] stated that there were also times when his father would let him go outside with him to work in the yard,” though said the last time he left the property was when he was around 14 or 15, accompanying his father to “dump yard waste.”

“When discussing his father dying, he stated that his captivity and restraint got even worse,” said police. “[He] stated that it got to a point where the only time he would ever be out of the house once since his father died was to let the family dog out in the back of the property.”

That, he said, only amounted to “about 1 minute a day.”

He also claimed he had not bathed in a year or two — and said he would save some of his drinking water to bathe himself in his bedroom room. The man also said he wasn’t given soap. When police found him, he they said he had thick, matted hair and claimed he hadn’t been given a haircut in three years.

The man also claimed he was “forced” to urinate into water bottles, emptying them through a series of straws that went through a hole in the window. He said he defecated on newspaper he placed on the ground, throwing it into the kitchen garbage “when he was let out to do chores.”

Sullivan was released Thursday after posting $300,000 bail; she’s due back in court on March 26.

If you are experiencing or witness child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 911.