Ariel Castro is sentenced for Cleveland abductions

Ariel Castro, 53-year-old former school bus driver, who was imprisoned for life without parole plus 1,000 years, told the court he was not a monster.

The court heard he kept his victims chained up and repeatedly raped them.

The captives, Ms Knight, 32, Amanda Berry, 27, and Gina DeJesus, 23, were rescued in May after one of them escaped from the Cleveland home.

Passing sentence on Thursday, Judge Michael Russo told Castro there was no place in the world for people who enslave others.
In her statement, Ms Knight told how their captor went to church every Sunday, before coming home to "torture" the women.

"I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning," she said. "You will face hell for eternity.

"From this moment on, I will not let you define me, or affect who I am. I will live on, you will die a little every day." 

 She was the only victim to speak at the hearing.

Castro then made a rambling statement to the court in which he blamed his sex addiction and the FBI for not properly investigating the kidnappings.

"I believe I am addicted to porn to the point that it really makes me impulsive and I just don't realise what I'm doing is wrong," he said.

 "I'm not a monster, I'm a normal person, I am just sick, I have an addiction"

The former bandsman continued: "To be a musician and to be a monster like you're trying to say that I am - I don't think I can handle that - I'm a happy person inside."

He told the court that he had been "driven by sex", adding: "I'm not a violent predator… I'm not a monster, I'm a normal person.

"I'm just sick. I have an addiction, just like an alcoholic has an addiction."

He said he never planned to abduct the women, but acted on the spur of the moment when he kidnapped his first victim.

Castro also turned to their families and to Ms Knight to say he was "truly sorry".

Below is the picture of Ariel Castro house and the chain he used to chain the victims..

Michelle Knight, One of three women held in Ariel Castro house for about a decade has told their captor he will "face hell for eternity", as he was jailed for life.

Check out the video of Michelle Knight speech  below..

Ariel Castro, who pleaded guilty to more than 900 criminal counts, apologized to the women he held captive, telling the court, "I am truly sorry for what happened." He went on to later say, "I just hope they can find it in their hearts to forgive me … we had a lot of harmony going on in that home."

Via BBC