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Ariel Castro sentenced in Cleveland court
Ariel Castro sentenced in Cleveland court
CLEVELAND — The man who abducted three young women and denied them their freedom for a decade was stripped of his own on Thursday.
Judge Michael Russo sentenced Ariel Castro to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 1,000 years.
Russo said the consecutive sentence was necessary because even though “a person can only die in prison once,” the court found Castro’s multiple offenses were great and unusual.
He also said Castro posed a grave danger to the community because Castro said he “couldn’t help” what he did.
Those were Castro’s own words as he spoke at the hearing, describing a “sexual addiction.” Castro also said he never planned to abduct the women, but did so impulsively.
Michelle Knight took the opportunity to be present in court and to deliver her own victim impact statement.
“You took 11 years of my life away, but now I have it back. I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning,” Knight told Castro.
Knight, who was 21 at the time, was the first to be lured into Castro’s car. He encountered her in 2002. She was lost while looking for a social worker regarding an issue with her son. Knight knew Castro’s daughter Emily and accepted his offer to give her a ride.
When he promised a puppy for her son, Knight entered Castro’s home. He never let her leave.
“Days never got shorter. Days turned into nights, nights turned into days. Years turned into eternity,” Knight said. “(Castro) told me that my family didn’t care, he tormented me constantly, even on holidays. Christmas was the most traumatic day, cause I never got to spend it with my son. Nobody should ever have to go through what I went through.”
Knight said the only good thing that came out of the ordeal was her friendship with Gina DeJesus, who was abducted in 2004 at the age of 14. DeJesus knew one of Castro’s daughters and was also promised a ride.
Amanda Berry was almost 17 when she was taken in 2003. Castro used the same method in that abduction.
Castro pleaded guilty last week to 937 counts including murder and kidnapping.