NBC Connecticut | Melissa Cooney
The legal team for a man who says he was held captive by his stepmother for more than two decades says the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General and the Connecticut Department of Children and Families are hiding relevant records from them.
A now 33-year-old man who goes by the name of ‘S’ says his stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, held him captive in their home for more than two decades. The Department of Children and Families visited the home six times from 1996 to 2005, when he was 3 to 11 years old, but S was never removed from the home.
“Here, the victim is S. The victim wants to see the documents,” said Joel Faxon, the civil attorney for S.
S and his team are seeking the right to sue DCF. But, the state argues that the decades-old allegations are past the one to three year statute of limitations and wants the case dismissed.
“Illogical. Crazy. Impossible. He could not have brought a claim to the claims commissioner as a minor child while he was held in captivity,” Faxon said.
S’s civil attorney says he can’t respond until the state releases all of S’s DCF records. Faxon says he’s received more than 200 pages, but with heavy redactions. What he wants most is a 50-page “after action” report that would indicate what DCF did after they interacted with S on those six occasions.
“Why should the state want to hide that information? Why shouldn’t the state just give us the information to help the victim cope with what he’s been through for the last several decades?” Faxon said.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong responded to the allegations of hiding documents.
“We don’t hide documents. We represent our clients. The Department of Children and Families is our client. We’re the state’s lawyer, and we’re going to do our job,” Tong said.
In an August hearing, Assistant Attorney General John Tucker argued that the state has already turned over everything S’s team is legally entitled to.
Tucker said the state cannot release records regarding S’s parents or siblings. He also said the “after action report” from DCF cannot be shared under state confidentiality statutes.
This legal situation is separate from the criminal charges Kimberly Sullivan, S’s stepmother, faces. She has maintained her innocence and is facing a trial next year.
DCF tells us they cannot comment on pending litigation.
Both sides will be discussing the issue further in the coming weeks. Once the issue is resolved, Faxon will respond to the state’s motion to dismiss and then the claims commissioner will make a decision on the statute of limitations issue.
“The parties’ responses to the Claims Commissioner are due on September 14. The Office of the Attorney General represents DCF in this matter and cannot comment further,” said a representative from the Office of the Attorney General.
For the first time in months, we also have an update on how S is doing.
The now 33-year-old set fire to his home in February 2025, saying he did so to escape Kimberly Sullivan, his stepmother. S says she held him captive for decades and he weighed only 68 pounds when he was rescued.
“It’s a very difficult situation to overcome. Physically, he’s doing better. But the toll that something like this takes on someone, you can’t imagine. He’s a wonderful young man. I can tell you that. And he really wants to see justice done in this case,” Faxon said.
