The man says he was held captive in the 20 -year -old room and set fire to escape but the stepmother denies all

Waterbury, conn. -A man from Connecticut who said he was held captive for 20 years was saved after setting fire to his room and told the first respondents that he did it to earn his freedom, the police said on Wednesday.

The man’s stepmother was accused of cruelty and kidnapping.

The first Waterbury respondents saved the 32-year-old emaciated man from a room, after being dislocated in a fire in the house last month, the police said in a statement. While being treated for inhalation of smoke, he revealed that he intentionally put the fire.

“I wanted my freedom,” said the man, according to the police. He said he was held captive since about 11 years old.

An investigation revealed that the man, whose name was not released ”, was held in captivity for over 20 years, enduring prolonged abuses, starvation, severe neglect and inhuman treatment,” the police said that he did not receive medical or dental care during that period.

“The suffering that this victim has endured for over 20 years is both tearing and unimaginable,” said the chief Fernando Spagnolo in a statement.

Kimberly Sullivan, 56 years old, identified as the man’s stepmother, was accused of assault, kidnapping, illegal restraint, cruelty and reckless danger. It was notified on Wednesday and was held in place of a bond of $ 300,000.

She holds the house and was in the house when the fire started but securely evacuated, CBS Hartford, reports WFSB-TV affiliate conn..

The man “lit a fire with a certain hand arrangement, some paper from a printer and lit that fire as it was locked in that outside room. He lit that fire very well knowing he could die, but he was locked in the room for 20 years, and for 20 years he tried to leave that room, “said a prosecutor in court on Wednesday, according to the station.

Sullivan’s lawyer, Ioannis Kaloidis, said her client was “amazed to hear the accusations” and denies them.

“Which indicated to me was that they are not absolutely true and, as we get more information, we intend to develop a vigorous defense,” Kaloidis told The Associated Press. “But he is firm, he did not do the things he accused.”

He said he was still gathering information and cannot say immediately if someone else lived in the house.

In court, reports WFSB, Sullivan’s lawyer said: “It is not true.

When he was taken to the hospital, he weighed only about 68 kilograms, WFSB said.

“He was, without exaggeration, similar to a survivor of Auschwitz’s death camp,” the prosecutor said.