The state Division of Youngsters and Households (DCF) is detailing their findings within the case of a Waterbury man who claims he was held captive for 20 years.
DCF mentioned it adopted protocols after conducting an inside assessment of their dealing with of the case, which spanned from the time he was a boy till he set a hearth inside the house in February to flee.
Firefighters who responded to the house earlier this 12 months to place out the hearth discovered the 32-year-old man emaciated, weighing solely 68 kilos, officers mentioned.
He advised them then he had been held captive in the home for many of his life and set the hearth to realize his freedom, in accordance with the arrest warrant police obtained for his stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan.
Sullivan was charged with assault within the first diploma, kidnapping within the second diploma, illegal restraint within the first diploma, cruelty to individuals and reckless endangerment within the first diploma and she or he has pleaded not responsible to the costs.
The sufferer’s faculty had contacted DCF when he was in fourth grade, and so they responded to the Blake Road residence twice. He mentioned he was taken out of college after these visits.
A gathering was held between DCF and members of the legislative kids’s committee Tuesday to debate updates on DCF’s assessment of the case.
DCF mentioned they performed a months-long inside assessment, which included an in depth assessment of all data, insurance policies and procedures that had been in place twenty years in the past. The division additionally performed interviews with employees who labored on the case.
The company mentioned they performed introduced and unannounced visits, together with after-hours residence visits. Workers assessed residence situations and meals availability throughout that point, in accordance with DCF.
When allowed, kids had been interviewed alone and other than their mother and father, however the conversations resulted in no disclosure of abuse or neglect, DCF officers mentioned.
DCF additionally communicated with the kid’s pediatrician, who famous no considerations.
“Based on the information available and the statutory requirements in place at the time, we did not have sufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations or remove the child form the home,” a DCF official mentioned.
In a press release issued final week, DCF Commissioner Jodi Hill-Lilly mentioned the division adopted the protocols that had been in place on the time.
“Our hearts remain with this young man along with his extended family members, friends and others who know him and have been impacted. We keep him and the unspeakable trauma he has endured at front of mind,” DCF mentioned in a press release launched Tuesday.
Of their findings, DCF famous that their insurance policies have advanced quite a bit over the previous twenty years.
“Unrelated to this case, the state has enhanced child welfare statutes, implemented best case practices and policies, and improved supports for child and families,” DCF mentioned.
You possibly can learn DCF’s assertion in its entirety under:
Sullivan is due in court docket on Aug. 19.
