A woman in Connecticut has appeared in court charged with holding her stepson captive for more than two decades and starving him.
The local police chief in Waterbury described the case as “one of the worst acts of inhumanity” he had experienced in 33 years in law enforcement.
When officers discovered the man, 32, he was “extremely emaciated, his hair was matted and unkempt, he was very dirty and his teeth all appeared to be rotten,” according to a statement from Waterbury Police Department.
Officers, who attended a house fire at an address on 17 February, said the man – who has not been named – had been subjected to “prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect and inhumane treatment”.
Police said he deliberately started a fire in the house owned by his stepmother Kimberly Sullivan, 56, so he could be rescued and alert authorities.
“I wanted my freedom,” he told police, according to a witness statement.
His stepmother has been charged with kidnapping, cruelty, and other crimes.
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She denies any wrongdoing, according to her lawyer and was released from custody on Thursday after appearing before Waterbury Superior Court and posting $300,000 (£232,000) bail.
When the man received a medical assessment, he was near starvation and – at 5ft 9in (1.75 metres) tall – weighed only 69 pounds (31 kg), police said.
Investigators “discovered that he had been provided with only minimal amounts of food and water, which led to his extremely malnourished condition,” the police statement added.
The man’s father died last year, while his biological mother has not been a part of his life, according to authorities.
Waterbury police chief Fernando Spagnolo said the man was treated for smoke inhalation and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
He said that in his 33 years in law enforcement, “this is probably one of the worst acts of inhumanity I’ve ever witnessed”.
The man told authorities he had been homeschooled from around the fourth grade (approximately aged 9 or 10) and confined to a locked 8-by-9-foot room from the age of around 11.
He said he was let out in the mornings for 15 minutes to two hours to do chores before he was locked away again. His daily food consisted of two sandwiches and the equivalent of two small bottles of water.
He last remembered leaving the property nearly 20 years ago, when he was 14 or 15.
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Police are now trying to determine how this could have happened without anyone noticing and whether any warning signs were missed. Investigators want to look at records from city schools and the state child welfare agency.
Safe Haven, a local charity which provides emergency shelter and support, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the man, and has already exceeded half the $14,000 (£10,810) target.
The money aims to help him with medical and dental care, housing, counseling and therapy, and support for legal fees.
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