Former Waterbury principal says he raised many concerns about malnourished boy, now age 32, held captive by stepmother for more than 20 years, since age 11, who freed himself after starting a fire at the home, Waterbury police say
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The boy had previously been the subject of welfare checks but the system failed him.
"We knew it. We reported it. Not a damn thing was done. That's the tragedy of the whole thing,” Tom Pannone, the former principal of the now-closed Barnard Elementary School in Waterbury, said.
He weighed just 68 pounds at the time of rescue.
https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/former-waterbury-principal-says-he-raised-concerns-about-malnourished-boy/3519189/
https://www.wfsb.com/2025/03/12/man-intentionally-starts-fire-home-he-was-held-captive-over-20-years-waterbury-escape/