The Lost Girls (38 page)

“God bless her, she’s a miracle child,” he said. “When she was born I know I could have taken her to the ER. And I chose not to. Thank God that nothing bad happened to her.”

Finally, Castro apologized to Judge Russo for bringing the case into his courtroom, saying his true judgment day would come when he faced God.

“I believe in the Bible,” he said. “I’ll be praying and asking for forgiveness. And due to the fact that I do have a sexual addiction, I don’t know how he’s going to judge me. I only know the comment that the lady made for the DeJesus family at the end was uncalled for.

“So again, thank you, everyone. Thank you, victims. Please find it in your hearts to forgive me. Thank you.”

After thanking Michelle Knight for her “remarkable restraint,” Judge Russo asked Castro how he could possibly say he was not a violent person, after admitting to hundreds of sexually violent offenses. And although he might find the term “sexual predator” unpleasant, it fitted.

“It’s confusing,” argued Castro. “It makes it sound like I forced myself onto them. It never happened, you know, physically.”

“By virtue of your plea that’s what you did,” said the judge. “You raped someone. That’s what it means.”

Judge Russo told the defendant that this was by far the worst case that had ever come before him, and was unparalleled in its scope of kidnapping, torture and depravation.

“All this was organized,” he said. “You used deception. You used chains and other means to hold captive three young women and ultimately a young child.”

Judge Russo said there had been a definite strategy, as all the victims had been friends with his children.

“And that was your entr
é
e,” he said, “and that’s how this evolved.”

The judge noted that although Castro claimed to suffer from sexual addiction when he abducted Michelle Knight, he already had a steady girlfriend whom he neither harmed or abused.

“You had apparently, or outwardly, a normal relationship with Miss Roldan,” said the judge. “Do you recall her?”

“Yes,” replied Castro.

“Okay,” Judge Russo continued, “so you are able to choose who you wish to victimize.”

He said the defendant had caused Michelle serious physical and psychological harm.

“I think even without the testimony of the expert from Michigan, any person in America would understand that [someone] who is held captive for between nine and eleven years, sexually assaulted and such, will … have serious psychological harm as well as the physical harm.”

The judge observed how Jocelyn Berry had been born into captivity, growing up in conditions that would never be tolerated in any Ohio prison.

“She grew up in a household where doors were locked,” said Russo, “people were chained up, windows were covered. People were not allowed to come over and visit.”

“Excuse me, Your Honor,” interrupted Castro, “my daughter has never seen anyone with chains on.”

Ignoring him, Judge Russo said the age of the victims was very important, and as an adult Castro had taken advantage of them.

“They were young women, teenagers,” he told Castro, “and they could not have imagined that an adult would trick them, and imprison them, and enslave them, and abuse them. You took advantage of their naïveté, and the fact that they were pleasant individuals that could not fathom this type of behavior.”

Even more disturbing, said the judge, was “the relationship issue” and how he had exposed a young child to such “unbelievable conditions.”

“In your mind there was harmony in a happy household,” he told Castro. “I’m not sure there is anybody else in America that would agree with you. And there were many crimes committed in the vicinity of your young daughter. The women were still being raped and deprived of food, and living in difficult physical conditions.”

Judge Russo said even if Castro was a victim of childhood sexual abuse, it was still no excuse for his crimes, as many people in similar situations move on and lead healthy lives, without abusing others.

The judge also questioned Castro’s claim of suffering from mental illness, saying from what he had seen in the courtroom, he knew exactly what was going on and always answered questions.

“You just made a calculated decision … to do wrong,” said Judge Russo, “and if anything, to me you exhibit antisocial personality disorder. I’m not a psychological expert, I certainly don’t have the credentials of those who spoke here today, but you have extreme narcissism and it seems rather persuasive.”

Judge Russo also spoke about his assertion that Nilda Figueroa was to blame for all the violence in their relationship.

“Now, you said your wife would irritate you,” said the judge, “she wouldn’t stop talking and then you would respond. Well, my understanding from the records is that she suffered a broken nose twice, she had broken teeth and she otherwise was abused.”

Russo called it “unfortunate” that Nilda had dropped her criminal complaint against him, as things might have been very different if she had gone ahead.

“I wish she had prosecuted for her sake,” he told Castro, “and I know now that she has passed, but victims need to stand up for themselves so that the abuse stops. And so that those who are abusers, when possible, will receive proper treatment and redirection, and that’s what the court is for.”

Up to now, Ariel Castro had sat quietly without a word. But when Judge Russo challenged his claims of being a good school bus driver, he took issue.

“According to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, your performance was not always acceptable,” said the judge. “You left a child on the bus. You’d go shopping … and leave your school bus at Marc’s. And you ended up eventually leaving that job. Is that right?”

“Your Honor, that’s not right,” replied Castro angrily. “That’s not right. When I checked my bus, that’s when I noticed the child was there on the bus.”

“You were disciplined for that,” the judge reminded him.

“And as for that case, the child never stayed alone.”

“But you were disciplined for it,” stated the judge.

“Yes, I was,” he admitted.

“And ultimately, your work as a school bus driver ended. Correct?”

“Yes,” replied Castro, gesticulating with his handcuffed hands, “but it wasn’t my regular route. I did that to help them out when a driver missed work.”

“All right,” said Judge Russo, changing the subject. “We’re going to keep in mind the principles of sentencing for incapacitation, deterrents, rehabilitation and restitution. I’m certainly not sure in this instance that rehabilitation will be possible, but there certainly is a need here for incapacitation and deterrence.”

Then the judge turned to sentencing Ariel Castro for the 937 counts, beginning with the two charges of aggravated murder, relating to Michelle Knight’s forced miscarriages.

“May I say something?” asked the defendant.

“No,” said Judge Russo, looking impatient. “Well, what do you want to say? You pled guilty to it.”

“I know that,” replied Castro testily. “But there was never any evidence in that. But I don’t want to put these women through any more … so that’s why I pled guilty to it. But there was never any incident of the murder of a fetus. That never happened.”

“Mr. Castro,” said the judge, “you talked to your attorneys and you made a decision to plead to count one as indicted. Is that correct?”

“Yes, I understand that,” replied Castro, “I just want to tell the record, I never killed anyone and I am not a murderer.”

Then Judge Russo read out each and every one of the 937 charges against him, sentencing him to serve the maximum time for each one, totaling life without parole plus a thousand years. He was also fined $100,000 and would have to forfeit everything he owned.

“The court imposed the maximum,” he told the defendant, “because these are the worst form of the offenses there. Although Mr. Castro does not have a prior criminal conviction, the breadth and the scope of these crimes, and the merciless manner in which they were inflicted, requires that a maximum sentence on each of those counts be imposed. A person can only die in prison once.

“Your uncle is Julio [Castro] and his wife, Norma, correct?” asked the judge.

“Right,” replied the defendant.

“They’ve been in this courtroom before. They are very wonderful people [and] have a great reputation in the community. They’ve operated a neighborhood store for over forty years. They were victims of a crime and the perpetrator of that crime had excuses also. In his case he blamed drug addiction and such. To the victim, excuses don’t take away the harm that’s involved.”

“I understand,” Castro replied.

The judge then ordered the defendant not to have any contact with his victims, by phone, letter or having a third party reach out to them.

“Do you understand that requirement?” asked the judge.

“Are you referring to my daughter also?” Castro asked.

“Yes,” said Russo, “she’s a victim. She’s subject to three counts of endangering a child, so by law she’s a victim.”

“I know,” said Castro, “but I heard … that I can file for parental rights for the future.”

“Well,” said the judge, “as in many other instances a person can file, whether they are going to be successful is a different matter, and it would take place in a different court. I’m imposing a no contact order. You should not try and contact them from the institution. Okay?”

Then Craig Weintraub leaned over and whispered in his client’s ear, to stop him saying anything further on the subject.

At the end of the four-and-a-half-hour sentencing, Judge Russo ordered Ariel Castro to rise.

“Sir,” he told him, “there’s no place in this city, there’s no place in this country, indeed there’s no place in this world, for those who enslave others, those who sexually assault others and those who brutalize others. For more than ten years you have preyed upon three young women. You have subjected them to harsh and violent conduct. You felt you were dominating them, but you were incorrect. You could not take away their dignity. Although they suffered terribly, Miss Knight, Miss DeJesus and Miss Berry did not give up hope. They have persevered. In fact they prevailed.

“These remarkable women again have their freedom, which is the most precious aspect of being an American. Mr. Castro, you forfeited that right. You now become a number with the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. You will be confined for the remainder of your days. You are hereby remanded for transport to Lorain Correctional Institution.”

Then Ariel Castro turned around and glared at Michelle Knight, who looked back at him defiantly.

“And now for Miss Knight, Miss DeJesus and Miss Berry, as well as your young daughter, we celebrate your futures. We acknowledge the faithfulness of your families, your friends and all others in this community who so fervently believed that you were alive. On behalf of the judges and the staff of this court, we wish each of you success and a sense of peace. Court adjourned.”

A few minutes later in a holding cell downstairs, Ariel Castro broke down in tears, as he signed over the deed to 2207 Seymour Avenue to the Cleveland Land Bank, which would soon demolish it.

“I don’t know why you have to tear my house down,” he sobbed to prosecutors. “I have so many happy memories there with Gina, Amanda and Michelle.”

On Friday morning, Ariel Castro’s sentencing made headlines around the world.
DAMN YOU FOREVER!
screamed the
New York Post
, while the
Los Angeles Times
carried the headline,
CLEVELAND KIDNAPPER ARIEL CASTRO: I’M NOT A MONSTER. I’M SICK.

Early that morning, a limousine pulled up outside the Cuyahoga County Jail in downtown Cleveland, with
Today
show anchor Matt Lauer and a TV crew. Then Lauer strolled up to the entrance, announcing that he was there to interview Ariel Castro. But to his embarrassment, Cuyahoga County Sheriff Frank Bova came out and informed the celebrity host that the interview was not going to happen.

“I won’t allow it,” Bova told him. “An Ariel Castro interview from jail isn’t going to happen in Cleveland.”

Then Lauer and his crew got back in the limousine and returned to the airport to fly back to New York.

A couple of hours later, Michelle Knight arrived at 2207 Seymour Avenue with a couple of friends. Although she did not go inside the house, she thanked the neighbors opposite who had helped in the escape.

Then she posed for pictures with Altagracia Tejeda on her porch, where Amanda Berry had first been spotted screaming for help. Michelle told Altagracia that she had seen her several times on her porch during her captivity.

“Did you see me?” Michelle asked her.

“Yes,” said Altagracia.

At 6:00
P.M.
, after meeting his attorneys in his cell, a heavily shackled Ariel Castro was escorted past a line of reporters and TV camera crews in the garage below. Then he was put in a jail van and driven twenty-four miles to the Lorain Correctional Institution in Grafton, Ohio, where it would be determined in which state prison he should serve the rest of his life sentence.

Prior to his designated “high-priority transfer,” a Cuyahoga County Jail nurse had filled out an Inmate Transfer Medical Information Sheet. It stated that Inmate Castro 643-371 had several medical issues, as well as a mental health diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood. It also noted a history of attempted suicides, although Castro had been taken off suicide watch some weeks earlier.

On his arrival at the Lorain Correctional Institution at 6:25
P.M.
, Castro appeared “blunted” and “subdued.” As part of his processing, Castro filled out the state prison’s suicide questionnaire and medical notification forms, as well as undergoing a mental health screening.

“The results of each screening process were unremarkable,” an official prison report stated later, “with the inmate denying any history of mental illness and suicidal behavior, as well as any current suicidal ideation.”

Castro told a nursing supervisor he had been depressed since his arrest, and for the first week he had been put on suicide watch.