Several neighbors of a Seymour man accused of holding his sister captive in “dungeon”-like conditions told cops investigating the case that they had suspected the man of abuse for years after his sister “crawled to a neighbor’s house begging for food.”
The man, Arthur Gauvin, 59, pleaded not guilty Wednesday at Superior Court in Milford to charges of first-degree assault of an elderly person, second-degree kidnapping, cruelty to persons, second-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree unlawful restraint, and witness intimidation.
Gauvin, 59, appeared briefly before Judge Frank Iannotti beside his lawyer, Daniel Ford, who said after the court appearance that Gauvin’s sister is still being treated at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
The case was continued to July 3 as Ford waits for discovery materials from prosecutors in the case.
Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Charles Stango did not object to the continuance, noting he needed time to speak to a conservator appointed for Gauvin’s sister.
After the July court date, plea negotiations will begin.
Gauvin has posted a total of $105,000 in bonds in the case but is being monitored by court officials via GPS, subject to a May 14 request by Stango that was granted by Judge Iannotti.
He has been barred from contacting his sister and daughter, and from returning to the Eleanor Road house at which police say he kept his sister locked in a fetid, urine- and feces-stained bedroom.
Conditions were so terrible inside the room, police said they had to don self-contained breathing apparatus and hazardous-materials suits to document the filth.
Police said Gauvin’s motive for keeping his sister locked up was his fear losing the house, which the sister once owned but transferred to him about seven years ago.
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Ford said Gauvin is staying at an “undisclosed location” away from the home.
Gauvin was arrested by Seymour police April 24, when cops were dispatched to the home to check the sister’s welfare after an anonymous call from someone concerned about her well-being.
Police found what they described as “heinous” conditions inside a bedroom they say Gauvin kept the woman locked.
Cops also said the window to the room was boarded up and blacked out so the sister couldn’t get out.
But neighbors who approached cops at the scene suspected for years that something untoward was going on in the home.
The neighbors wanted to remain anonymous “because of fear of retaliation” from Gauvin, Seymour Police Detectives Joseph Matusovich and Scott Nihill wrote in a search warrant affidavit in the case.
“A few years ago, (Gauvin’s sister) crawled out of the window that is boarded up and crawled to a neighbor’s house begging for food,” the affidavit said. “Neighbors told Officer Scheithe that Arthur and (his daughter) leave (the sister) locked in her room all day while they are at work. Neighbors stated that this above described abuse has been happening for years.”
At a press conference the day after Gauvin’s arrest, Seymour Police Deputy Chief Paul Satkowski said cops had visited the home to check the sister’s welfare as recently as 2012 and found nothing out of the ordinary.
The daughter told police she knew her aunt wasn’t cared for well, and raised those concerns to her father, but didn’t report him because he told her he’d kick her out of the house if she did, leaving her and her daughter homeless.
In fact, after Gauvin was initially charged in the case April 24 and posted bond, police said he threatened to do just that as his daughter sat in the lobby of the police station on Franklin Street.
“Due to his threats I’m scared … I’m petrified,” the affidavit quoted the daughter as telling police.
