An elementary college raised numerous pink flags in regards to the severely emaciated man who went on to spend many years in captivity in a Connecticut home of horrors — however “not a damn thing was done” as he dropped off the face of the Earth, the previous principal claimed.
The sufferer, now 32, weighed simply 68 kilos when he was rescued final month from a Waterbury home hearth that he informed cops he intentionally lit to flee the hellish circumstances he’d allegedly been compelled to endure since he was 11 years outdated, authorities revealed Wednesday.
Tom Pannone, who was the boy’s principal at Barnard Elementary Faculty 20 years in the past, informed NBC Connecticut that he at all times knew one thing was “grossly wrong” after staffers first noticed the worryingly skinny baby stealing meals and consuming out of the rubbish.
“Everyone really was concerned with this child since he was 5 years old. You knew something was wrong. It was grossly wrong,” Pannone mentioned.
“We knew it. We reported it. Not a damn thing was done. That’s the tragedy of the whole thing.”
The principal mentioned the varsity made at the very least 20 calls to baby providers and the boy’s stepmom, Kimberly Sullivan, earlier than he was all of a sudden yanked out of sophistication — by no means to return once more.
Sullivan, 56, was arrested and charged with cruelty and kidnapping Wednesday after an investigation within the wake of final month’s hearth uncovered the surprising alleged abuse that authorities have described as “something out of a horror movie.”
“You don’t disappear off the face of the Earth at 10 years old,” Pannone mentioned of the boy’s sudden disappearance years earlier.
Pannone mentioned the varsity began elevating issues when the boy informed staffers he typically wasn’t allowed meals at residence — and academics even began bringing him meals after seeing him consuming from the trash.
The boy not too long ago informed cops he was finally pulled out of faculty within the fourth grade after staffers began alerting Division of Kids and Households, authorities mentioned.
“[The victim] stated that by this time in his life he was always hungry so when he was at school he would ask others for their food, steal others’ food and sometimes eat food out of the garbage. This resulted in DCF responding to the home on two occasions,” the stepmom’s legal grievance states.
On the time, Sullivan allegedly informed the boy to inform authorities “everything was fine.”
He was allegedly pulled out of the varsity by the stepmom shortly after, in keeping with authorities.
Pannone mentioned he was informed the boy had been enrolled in close by Wolcott Public Faculties, however he may by no means discover a file of it.
He was informed, too, at one level that the scholar was now being homeschooled.
The sufferer, nonetheless, informed investigators that he was locked in a room on the residence and “no one was teaching him anything,” the grievance states.
“[The boy] stated that once he was pulled from school his weekday routine and captivity became brutally
consistent for the rest of his life,” the submitting fees.
The explosive particulars solely emerged after cops began probing the case after pulling the now-32-year-old man from the home hearth again on Feb. 17.
Whereas being handled for smoke inhalation, he had revealed that he deliberately set the blaze, cops mentioned.
“I wanted my freedom,” the person mentioned, in keeping with police.
The investigation revealed the person “had been held in captivity for over 20 years, enduring prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment,” police mentioned.
Sullivan was charged with assault, kidnapping, illegal restraint, cruelty and reckless endangerment. She was arraigned Wednesday and held in lieu of $300,000 bond.
