Plea offers extended in Waterbury captivity case, attorney says Kimberly Sullivan won't take them
The prosecution's offer was 30 years in prison, suspended after Sullivan serves 20 years, followed by five years of probation. The judge then made her own offer with half the incarceration time—30 years, suspended after serving 10 years, and five years of probation.
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Two plea offers were extended Wednesday to Kimberly Sullivan, the Waterbury woman accused of holding her stepson captive in their home for 20 years, but her attorney said after the hearing that she has no intention of taking a deal that includes prison time.
"It's a nonstarter," attorney Ioannis Kaloidis told reporters outside Waterbury Superior Court following Sullivan's brief appearance.
The prosecution's offer was 30 years in prison, suspended after Sullivan serves 20 years, followed by five years of probation. The judge then made her own offer with half the incarceration time—30 years, suspended after serving 10 years, and five years of probation. Sullivan will officially accept or reject the deals when she returns to court Sept. 4.
"We said all along, Kimberly's done nothing wrong. She's been wrongly accused, so she shouldn't spend any time in jail," Kaloidis stated.
Sullivan, 57, is charged with two counts of first-degree kidnapping - as well as first-degree assault, first-degree unlawful restraint and intentional cruelty to persons.
The case has drawn worldwide attention because of the extent of what Waterbury police said occurred inside the home and how they uncovered the alleged abuse. Sullivan is accused of locking her stepson in an 8 feet by 9 feet-wide room for two decades with barely any food or water and no toilet. Police said it started when he was 11 after Sullivan and her husband, who died in 2024, pulled him out of elementary school.
Sullivan was arrested in March 2025 after emergency crews responded to a fire at her home on Blake Street the month before. Her stepson, who was 31 at the time, later told police he started the fire in a bid to escape. When firefighters rescued him, police said he weighed just 68 pounds.
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State files new charges against Waterbury woman accused of holding her stepson captive for 20 years
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