'It's beyond comprehension': Community reacts with shock over man allegedly held captive for over 20 years

Locals who lived near a Connecticut house where a man was allegedly held captive and abused by his stepmother for two decades remain stunned at the reported shocking hidden abuse that occurred in the midst of their community.

Locals who lived near a Connecticut house where a man was allegedly held captive and abused by his stepmother for two decades remain stunned at the reported shocking hidden abuse that occurred in the midst of their community.

The 32-year-old was found emaciated in a property in Waterbury on Feb. 17, where he had endured "prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect and inhumane treatment," police said. Kimberly Sullivan, 56, was arrested this week on charges including kidnapping, assault and unlawful restraint.

"I was right by here this whole time and he was going through that suffering. It's heartbreaking. I just hope he'll be okay,” Zeffery Guarnera, of Waterbury, told NBC Connecticut Thursday.

The home of Kimberly Sullivan in Waterbury, Conn., on Thursday.Jim Shannon / Hearst Connecticut Media via APGuarnera said that a family member may have spotted a boy inside the house years ago.

"She was just a 10-year-old child on the swing doing what kids do, looked up in the window, saw a little child. She said he had a baseball cap on. He waved to her. She waved to him and that was it. He walked away and, you know, she never saw him again," he said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/connecticut-man-allegedly-held-captive-20-years-rcna196400

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