Castro gets life term in kidnapping of 3 women

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Ohio man convicted of holding three women captive in his Cleveland house over a decade and raping them repeatedly was sentenced today to life in prison.

Ariel Castro, 53, apologized to his victims in a rambling, defiant statement before he was sentenced. He blamed his sex addiction and others 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."

The judge gave Castro the life term for the most serious count and was outlining additional time for the hundreds of other counts, but he didn't immediately reveal the exact amount of the symbolic additional prison time.

Just before the sentencing, one of three women he kidnapped stood just feet away from Castro and confronted him, telling him his life was over.

"You took 11 years of my life away and I have got it back," said Michelle Knight. "I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning."

Knight, 32, was the first woman abducted Castro in 2002 after he lured her into his house with the promise of a puppy for her son.

Judge Michael Russo dismissed Castro's claims that the women lived a happy life with him.

"I'm not sure there's anyone in America that would agree with you," he said.