(WATERBURY--WTIC News) A judge ordered Waterbury stepmom Kimberly Sullivan to wear a GPS monitor as a condition of her continued release, as a defense attorney entered a not guilty plea for her on Friday morning.
In a case that’s gained international notice, Sullivan is accused of holding her husband’s son captive in the family home for twenty years.
The 32-year-old victim was described as emaciated and disheveled when he was rescued from a fire at the Sullivan home last month. Police say the victim set the fire to attract the attention of first responders, leading to his escape from the home where he says he was held since the 4th grade.
Sullivan remains free on a $300 thousand bond. A prosecutor says the victim, recovering at an undisclosed location, is concerned that Sullivan isn’t behind bars.
“This victim is afraid. This victim lives in fear,” said Don Therkildsen of the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s office. “I introduced myself to the victim, explained who I was. His first question, in his fear, is, ‘Why is she out walking around when I was locked up in a room for twenty years.’”
Defense attorney John Kaloidis says his client also has safety concerns, since she’s been the subject of online threats. He thinks a GPS monitor will restrict her ability to protect herself:
“She needs to be able to have freedom of movement… Your Honor, I’ve actually advised her to leave the state, initially, given the media attention.”
Kaloidis says it’s that same media attention that’s led his client to be convicted by the public, well before a trial is ever held.
“I know everyone wants to crucify her and everyone’s already convicted her,” said Kaloidis, “but that’s not how this works, and it’s not how it’s going to work, and the burden is not going to shift to the defense. The burden rests on the state. They’ve got to prove these allegations in court, and we’re a long way from that.”
Sullivan, 56, is charged with assault, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, cruelty to persons and reckless endangerment. She could spend the rest of her life in prison if convicted, which is one reason the prosecution calls her a ‘flight risk.’
“That makes it a significant incentive to flee this jurisdiction and to not appear in court,” said Therkildsen.
Judge Joseph Schwartz agreed, adding that the accusations suggest the defendant’s “extreme indifference to human life.” He ordered the GPS monitor. The case returns to Waterbury Superior Court on April 22.
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Also on Friday, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families said it has located records related to the victim and his family. DCF previously said it had no records of the case. No details of the newly discovered records were release. The agency had visited with the family before the victim was pulled from school in the 4th grade, beginning his lengthy disappearance from the public.