Michelle Knight sits in the courtroom during a break in the sentencing phase for Ariel Castro Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Cleveland. Knight one of the victims of Castro testified at the sentencing Thursday. The appearance by Knight is the first time she’s been seen publicly since her rescue from the house where she was held captive for ten years. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Ariel Castro listens in the courtroom during the sentencing phase today in Cleveland.ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS,Associated Press
THOMAS J. SHEERAN,Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) – The man convicted of holding three women captive in a house he turned into a prison and raping them repeatedly for a decade was sentenced Thursday to life without parole plus 1,000 years.
Ariel Castro, 53, apologized to his victims in a rambling, defiant statement before he was sentenced. He blamed a sex addiction, his former wife and even the FBI for not thoroughly investigating the abductions while claiming most of the sex was consensual and that the women were never tortured.
“These people are trying to paint me as a monster,” he said. “I’m not a monster. I’m sick.”