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              Sentencing Starts in Cleveland Abduction, Rape Case

   by VOA News

   A U.S. man who pleaded guilty to holding three young women captive in
   his Cleveland, Ohio, house for a decade and agreed to spend the rest of
   his life in prison has apologized to his victims.

   Former school bus driver Ariel Castro appeared for his sentencing
   hearing in a Cleveland court Thursday wearing an orange prison
   jumpsuit.

   He started to apologize to the women when the judge interrupted him to
   discuss technicalities in the case.

   The 53-year-old Castro abducted Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle
   Knight, shackled them and repeatedly raped them until Berry escaped in
   early May. Police then freed the other two.

   Berry bore a daughter by Castro during her captivity, and the girl is
   now six years old.

   Knight is expected to speak at the sentencing, as will representatives
   of the other two women.

   Castro pleaded guilty to 937 charges in exchange for prosecutors
   dropping the threat of a death sentence.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP.
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   o-cleveland-abduction-rape-case/1714779.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/sentencing-hearing-begins-ariel-castro-cleveland-abduction-rape-case/1714779.html