The victim of an alleged bad stepmother who was kept imprisoned for 20 years tried to drink from a urinal at school and was considered by a neighbor for a spirit.
The emaciated 32-year-old man, who has not been publicly identified, was saved last month from a Waterbury, Connecticut, at home after he set it on fire to attract attention. His stepmother Kimberly Sullivan, 56, is accused of abuse and kidnapping.
“Nothing surprised me about the situation … Every year every teacher was worried,” Tom Pannone, the former director of the now closed Barnard Elementary School, told DailyMail.com
He says that the victim went to the school when he was in kindergarten to fourth grade, only to disappear when teachers started to express concern about his well -being.
“One day I caught him in the urinal to rinse it to drink water, because I don't think he could reach the water fountain at the time … It was insane, I am sick there to this day … As a person I feel sick.”
An emotional Pannone remembered that the boy used to share horror stories about his home, because he was so young as five, when he looked much too small for his age.
“A teacher told me he said that the mother bought pizza one evening, but he couldn't have one. It was only for the sisters and the rest of the family, “Pannone said Thursday said.
'So this was when he was five years old, and the red flags flew at that age and reports were made. I could not tell you how often reports were made to children and family support agencies. '
In the meantime, the boy's neighbor told Zeffney Guarnera about how his daughter once saw the victim in a window about 14 years ago – and she was so amazed by his appearance that she saw him in front of a spirit.
Kimberly Sullivan, 56, has been arrested and accused of her stepson for 20 years in a situation in a situation so terrible that he set fire to his room in a final attempt to escape
Pannone said that officials told him several times that they visited the boy's house and that he was safe
Tom Pannone of the alleged victim of the primary school told Tom Pannone to DailyMail.com that he repeatedly contacted officials
Guarnera told Dailymail.com: '' She saw a little boy in the window with a baseball cap, and he waved at her and she waved at him … And then she never saw him again.
“She even said, have I seen a spirit?”
Pannone, the former director of the boy, contacted the authorities repeatedly about the clearly malnourished boy with rotten teeth, but it was always told that his reports had been assessed and the child turned out to be safe.
He said that he called the boy's stepmother several times to report that he had stolen food, but the woman always claimed that the boy was in order, once said he had allergies and teachers asked him not to give him food.
'He was half the size of all the other children in the classroom, and even in the class photos I have, you even saw at a kindergarten, he looks like a three -year -old … [and was] Constant hunger, constantly hungry … 'Pannone shared.
'[She said] He has food allergies, lactose intolerance and something like that. So she literally didn't want the school to give him food. And all his teachers still gave him food. We knew that this boy was hungry … he was voriously. '
After years of complaints among civil servants, the boy did not return to primary school for the fifth grade, according to Pannone, who says he was trying to contact public schools to see if he was registered there, and it was finally told that the boy was home schooled.
“I don't know how the Department of Children's Services and the police could have went to the house and have seen him and saying that everything is fine … A blind man can look at the child and know that he is not right.”
Yet Pannone announced that he always knew that the boy was not in order and always dropped the authorities in the case.
'I probably did Google search assignments on this boy every few years. Just to see if he's up somewhere. I really thought he was dead. I thought he was dead
Neighbor Zeffney Guarnera, depicted, told Dailymail.com that his daughter once saw the victim and did not see him for a spirit
The young man was saved last month after he set fire to the house in a successful offer to seek help, the inside of the house of Sullivan is depicted
The alleged victim showed signs of malnutrition at his primary school. A representation of the now closed Barnard Elementary School in Waterbury, Connecticut
After hearing news about the escape of the boy and the arrest of the stepmother, the educator can only feel guilty.
'There is a lot of guilt on my part. And I am sure it is the role of the teacher, but what else could we have done to prevent something like that? 'Pannone added.
“What the hell could I do differently? You know, other than going to the house, hitting the door and pulling the child to his ears … I am sick, I didn't do it because I knew it … it's just a tragedy. '
The young man was saved last month after he set fire to the house in a successful offer to seek help. He only weighed 68 pounds and said he was kept in captivity from when he was 11.
Sullivan denied Assault and kidnapping during her preliminary guide hearing on Wednesday.
The police say that Sullivan held her stepson imprisoned since he was in the fourth grade in an 8 -feet room at 9 feet without heat or air conditioning.
Authorities believe that the man has been kept in captivity for more than 20 years, so that long -term abuse, hunger, serious neglect and inhumane treatment endure. '
Sullivan will be seen on Wednesday after her beforehand. It is held on a bond of $ 300,000
Pannone remembered that the boy shared about his home since his five horror stories
The police say that Sullivan was holding her stepson imprisoned because he was in fourth grade in a room of 8 feet by 9 feet without heat or air conditioning
Neighbor Zeffney Guarnera – whose daughter once confused the victim for a spirit – said he did not even realize that Kimberly Sullivan had a son.
Guarnera said that he had only met Sullivan 'passing by', but always felt that 'something was finished'.
“She would never say hello or nothing. There was something about her that I didn't get completely.
“To know that I have lived here all those years … the boy must be locked up in a room without a window.”
Sullivan's lawyer Ioannis Kaloidis released a full-length defense after the 56-year-old on Wednesday before a court in Waterbury, Connecticut appeared on the accusation of the torture of the unnamed 32-year-old man.
“She completely maintains her innocence, from our perspective. These allegations are not true. They are bizarre. She was blown away when she heard these allegations, “Kaloidis told NBC Connecticut. “We look forward to being able to justify her and show that she has done nothing wrong.”
Sullivan is seen in court. She claims that she is innocent and shocked about the charges against her
A neighbor told DailyMail.com that they 'did not even know that Sullivan had a son'
The lawyer added: 'He was not locked up in a room. She has not limited him in any way. She took care of food, she offered shelter. It is blown away by these allegations. It is shocking and what is more shocking to me? It is how someone can falsely accused of something like that. '
Her stepson reportedly set fire to a small bedroom at the top of her Waterbury house on 17 February.
According to WFSB, the victim lit a fire with some hand disinfector [and] Some paper from a printer. '
Prosecutors said he was 'related to a survivor of the Auschwitz skull' when he was saved.
While he was treated for breathing in smoke, he trusted in rescue teams that he deliberately set the fire as a means to escape.
“I wanted my freedom,” the man reportedly said to the police.
Police chief Fernando Spagnolo said: “The suffering that this victim has endured for more than 20 years is both heartbreaking and unimaginable.
'This case did not require the dedication of our officers and the office of the state of the state of Waterbury.
“Their relentless deployment ensured that justice is served and the perpetrator is held fully responsible for these horrible crimes.”
Sullivan is held on a bond of $ 300,000 after she was charged on Wednesday
