Judge sentences Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro to life plus 1000 years

Cleveland (CNN) In handing down a sentence of life in prison plus 1 000 years to Ariel Castro an Ohio judge told the kidnapper on Thursday that there was no place in the world for his brand of criminal.

Castro pleaded guilty to 937 counts including murder and kidnapping in connection with the kidnapping and abuse of Michelle Knight Georgina DeJesus and Amanda Berry whom he held captive for a decade in his Cleveland home. As part of the plea deal the death penalty was taken off the table.

You don't deserve to be out in our community Cuyahoga County Judge Michael Russo said after an hours long hearing in which Castro at times appeared to defend his actions. You're too dangerous.

In his oft disjointed statement to the court Castro referred to himself as very emotional and a happy person inside.

Despite his repeated insistence that he wasn't making excuses for his conduct Castro played the victim saying he was addicted to porn and masturbation.

The judge appeared to be unmoved by Castro's words and matter of factly handed down a severe sentence that will likely make Castro a prisoner for the rest of his days.

Ariel Castro's sentencing for the kidnapping and rape of three women in Ohio will be issued Thursday August 1. During the trial the prosecution presented images from inside the house that reveal the disturbing conditions in which they were held. A model of the house was also included. Chains constrained the women in the basement. Castro had a gun in the home and told Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Detective David Jacobs he would show to the girls as a form of control. Asked whether he had ever forced the girls to play Russian roulette Castro told Jacobs that he didn't remember it but if the girls said it it probably happened. Amanda Berry spent most of her time in this bathroom with her daughter. Stuffed animals lie on a bed in the house. Castro describes himself as a sexual predator in a letter. Berry and Michelle Knight were forced to wear a helmet the first time Castro sexually assaulted them according to Andrew Harasimchuk a detective with the sex crimes unit. Toys and other belongings are piled in a bedroom. The FBI agent interviewed on the stand said Castro would make the women wear a brown wig on the rare occasion he let them out of the home. Chains ran through the walls in the house the prosecution said. The pole to which the women were chained in the basement is pictured running through an upstairs bedroom. Stairs led down to the basement. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Evidence photos from Castro's trial Photos of Castro's victims after rescue Officer recounts Castro victims' abuse See photos taken inside Castro's home

Excuses don't take away the harm that's involved Russo said. You have extreme narcissism and it seems rather pervasive.

Russo handed down the stiffest sentence allowed as part of the deal after investigators psychologists and one of the victims painted a horrifying picture of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Castro including brutal beatings and repeated rapes that resulted in pregnancies that he would terminate by punching the women in the stomach.

All three women kept diaries with Castro's permission that provided many of the details of their abuse.

'Eleven years in hell'

Ariel Castro's son I won't visit dad in prison

Berry and DeJesus who did not attend the hearing sent family members to deliver impact statements on their behalf while Knight chose to address her abductor head on.

Knight who was taken first and held the longest told Castro the death penalty would be so much easier.

You took 11 years of my life away she said. I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning.

In a pre sentencing evaluation Dr. Frank Ochberg a pioneer in trauma science wrote that Knight suffered the longest and most severely.

It was Michelle who served as doctor nurse midwife and pediatrician during the birth (of Berry's child). She breathed life into that infant when she wasn't breathing he wrote. At other times she interceded when Castro sought to abuse Gina interposing herself and absorbing physical and sexual trauma. But each survivor had a will to prevail and used that will to live through the ordeal.

Castro is the father of Berry's 6 year old girl DNA tests have confirmed.

'Happy household'

Castro appeared to blame the victims and accused them of lying about their treatment. He went on to say that none of the women was a virgin when he abducted them that they wanted to have sex with him and there was harmony in the happy household.

Castro even claimed that no one cared enough about Knight to search for her after she disappeared.

I'm not a monster. I'm just sick. I have an addiction just like an alcoholic has an addiction he said. God as my witness I never beat these women like they're trying to say that I did. I never tortured them.

When Castro finished Russo dubbed him a violent sexual predator and thanked Knight for showing remarkable restraint during the hearing.

Wearing eyeglasses and an orange prison uniform the shackled Castro characterized his crimes in a far gentler light than did the book length indictment against him I'm not a violent person. I simply kept them there so they couldn't leave.

Testimony from authorities and mental health experts didn't jibe with Castro's recollection however. Police recalled how the women were forced to play Russian roulette and how Castro would throw money at them after raping them.

Detective David Jacobs of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office testified he'd also show a gun to the girls as a form of control.

It was all to purely satisfy his sexual needs Jacobs said. 'I knew what I did was wrong.' He said that more than once.

Castro's 1 400 square foot home was reconfigured to keep the women's whereabouts a secret FBI agent Andrew Burke testified. The back door was outfitted with an alarm bedspreads and curtains obscured parts of the home and a porch swing was placed in front of the stairs leading to the rooms where Castro held the women and girl hostage.

In the room where Berry and her daughter were held the doorknob was removed a lock was affixed to the outside and a hole was cut through the door for ventilation because the windows had been boarded up from the inside Burke said.

Burke also described a handwritten letter in which Castro claimed he had been sexually abused as a child and wrote I am a sexual predator.

'You saved us '

The first police officer on the scene Barbara Johnson recalled for the court how she and another officer heard the pitter patter of footsteps in a dark room where Knight and DeJesus were held.

When the captive women realized they were police Knight literally launched herself onto an officer legs arms just choking him. She just kept repeating 'You saved us You saved us ' Johnson said.

Multiple officers testified that Castro appeared to show no remorse for his crimes and prosecutor Anna Faraglia said he tormented his victims by allowing them to watch vigils held in their honor and he even attended some.

Castro would talk to his victims' parents as if he were distraught by their disappearances when they were right underneath his roof Faraglia said.

Rape victims forced to fight for custody Deborah Knight the grandmother of kidnapping victim Michelle Knight participates in a community balloon release service in Michelle's honor on Thursday May 9 in Cleveland. Four females were found in a home on Seymour Avenue in the Clark Fulton neighborhood on Monday. Since then the neighborhood and the nation have wondered how they were held captive without anyone noticing sooner. Authorities say Ariel Castro held three women Amanda Berry Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. DNA tests confirmed that he fathered a girl born to Berry who was among those rescued the Ohio attorney general's office said Friday. His house third from left is now a crime scene. 57 year old Ronice Dunn moved into the neighborhood in 1984. For years after Berry and DeJesus disappeared she joined in neighborhood vigils and prayer groups for their safe return. A building sits boarded up on Seymour Avenue. The Clark Fulton neighborhood is beset by nearly double digit unemployment and one in every five houses is in foreclosure. The media set up tents near Castro's home. Kinkel Avenue is a few blocks from Castro's home. The house of Onil Castro's two sons where he was staying when he was arrested on Kinkel Avenue. He and his brother Pedro were arrested along with Ariel Castro but later were released and not charged. Why didn't I notice anything What should I have been looking for asked Mickie Wodgik who spent years living across the street from Castro and it turns out the three missing women. Around the corner from Seymour Avenue graffiti is written on an abandoned building. A street view shows West 25th Street which runs perpendicular to Seymour Avenue. Cynthia Conor who has lived in the same house for 38 years often drank with Castro and and his brother Pedro she said. Her father trained Castro for his school bus job. A man stands on Clark Avenue in front of painted buildings. This boarded up building sits across the street from Castro's house. Pastor Joe Abraham has ministered to many in this neighborhood for more than 25 years including as the leader of Scranton Road Bible Church. People hold balloons during a community balloon release service in kidnapping victim Michelle Knight's honor. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 The Clark Fulton neighborhood Son Castro belongs in prison for life Ariel Castro listens in the courtroom during the sentencing phase of his trial Thursday August 1 in Cleveland alongside defense attorneys Craig Weintraub left and Jaye Schlachet. He pleaded guilty last week to 937 counts including murder and kidnapping in a deal that dropped a possible death penalty in exchange for life in prison plus 1 000 years. Here's a look at the moments leading up to his sentencing. Michelle Knight speaks during the sentencing phase for Ariel Castro Thursday August 1 in Cleveland. I will live on Knight said in her statement to Castro. You will die a little every day. Castro enters the courtroom Friday July 26. He was arrested in May and accused of holding three young women captive for nearly a decade. Amanda Berry vanished a few blocks from her Cleveland home on April 21 2003. She was 16. She spoke in a video released on YouTube on Monday July 8 thanking people for support and privacy. Berry Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped from a Cleveland home on May 6 after being held captive for nearly a decade. Georgina Gina DeJesus was last seen in Cleveland on April 2 2004 on her way home from school. She was 14 when she went missing. Knight was last seen on August 22 2002 when she was 21. FBI agents and other law enforcement officers stand outside Castro's home in Cleveland on May 9. Castro hangs his head while talking with his public defender Kathleen DeMetz during his arraignment on May 9. Ariel Castro was charged on May 8 with kidnapping the three women. Investigators remove evidence from the house on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland where the three women were held. An FBI forensics team meets outside the house where three women were held as they investigate the property. Cleveland Deputy Chief of Police Ed Tomba center speaks at a news conference to address details of the developments. The house where the three women were held captive in Cleveland was the home of Ariel Castro who was arrested and is being held pending charges in the case. FBI agents remove evidence from the house May 7. A police officer stands in front of the broken front door of the house on May 7 where the kidnapped women escaped. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Photos Kidnapped teens rescued

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'Thank you victims'

In addition to Russo's guarantee that he will never be released from incarceration during the period of his remaining natural life for any reason Castro was also hit with a forfeiture of property and fined $100 000.

As the judge sentenced him Castro took issue with the aggravated murder charge related to the termination of his victims' pregnancies saying there was no evidence those incidents occurred. Russo reminded him that he had already pleaded guilty and Castro said he did so only to save his victims further trauma.

In your mind there was harmony and a happy household Russo said. I'm not sure there's anyone else in America who would agree with you.

As the hearing came to a close Castro turned around in the court and glanced at family members of the victims.

Thank you victims. Please find it in your heart to forgive me he said.

Why so many high profile crimes in Cleveland

In each case according to court documents Castro lured the women into his car with the promise of a ride. The women and girl were freed in May after Berry shouted for help while Castro was away.

Neighbors heard her cries and came to her aid as she tried to break through a door to get out. One neighbor gave her a cell phone to call authorities.

Help me I am Amanda Berry she frantically told a 911 operator. I've been kidnapped and I've been missing for 10 years. And I'm here. I'm free now.

In early July Berry DeJesus and Knight released a YouTube video thanking all those who have helped them since they were freed. Berry and DeJesus have not faced their captor and tormentor since their rescue.

I want to thank everyone who has helped me and my family through this entire ordeal. Everyone who has been there to support us has been a blessing Berry said in the video. I'm getting stronger each day.

CNN's Drew Griffin reported from Cleveland and Chelsea J. Carter and Eliott C. McLaughlin reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Pamela Brown Joe Sterling Chris Boyette Ronni Berke and Martin Savidge contributed to this report.

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