The conservator for a man allegedly held captive for two decades in a locked room at a Waterbury home has filed a claim which could pave the way for a potential lawsuit against the Connecticut Department of Children and Families.
The claim was initiated earlier this month by attorney Kristan Exner and completed this week, according to the Office of the Claims Commissioner. The filing is the first step in potentially suing a state agency and must be approved before that can happen.
“Connecticut state law requires anyone who may seek damages from the state or any of its agencies to file relevant paperwork within a specific time frame,” attorney Kristan Exner, conservator of the victim — who has only been identified publicly as “S” — said in a statement. “In S’s case, state law mandated that these filings be completed by Feb. 17, 2026. These filings are procedural and merely ensure that, should S decide to make claims against any state entity, he has the right to do so. Given the nature of these proceedings, we are not able to comment further at this time.”
According to the Claims Commissioner, the filing names DCF and leaves the potential for claims involving “personal injury” or “standard of care” allegations to be made.
“We have not yet been notified of the claim and, when it is received, we will assess it to determine the most appropriate course of action,” a DCF spokesperson said in a statement.
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According to police, S intentionally set fire to a Blake Street home in March 2025 and told first responders that he started the blaze because he wanted his “freedom.” When he was pulled from the home, the 32-year-old weighed 68 pounds at 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and had to be carried by firefighters, according to the arrest warrant affidavit charging the man’s stepmother, 57-year-old Kimberly Sullivan.
S claimed that he was pulled from school in 2005 and was locked in an 8-foot by 9-foot storage room for most of his life without any heat or air conditioning, the warrant affidavit said. He alleges he was only let out between 15 minutes to two hours a day to do chores, but that there were some days when he said he was locked up for 24 hours straight.
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The man claimed that for most of his life he was given two sandwiches and two small cups or bottles of water each day and that he was not allowed to use the bathroom, according to the warrant affidavit. He told investigators he was told to lie to DCF and say everything was fine after being pulled from school at 11 years old, the warrant affidavit said.
DCF conducted a review of the agency’s involvement with the family and said it found that six reports were investigated between 1996 and 2005. The investigations involved announced and unannounced visits and assessments of the family home, including its conditions and whether food was available.
According to DCF, the children in the home — which included Sullivan’s daughters — were interviewed away from their parents when it was “allowed,” noting that, prior to 2018, the agency could only interview a child without parental consent in cases involving allegations of abuse. Claims of neglect would not allow such an interview before the law was changed, the agency previously said.
The father of S, who also resided in the home, died in January 2024.
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DCF said an investigator contacted S’s pediatrician and no concerns were expressed.
“DCF was in ongoing communication with both the pediatrician and the school nurse to assess whether there was an underlying medical explanation for the child’s small stature and food-seeking behavior,” the agency said in a statement last year.
“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 from the home,” DCF previously said.
Sullivan, who is free on a $300,000 bond, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful restraint, cruelty to persons and first-degree reckless endangerment. She is scheduled to appear in Waterbury Superior Court on March 12.
Sullivan’s attorney, John Kaloidis, has maintained his client’s innocence and has said he plans on putting on a vigorous defense.