Child's name deleted in Cleveland kidnapping case

CLEVELAND (AP) — A judge says the name of a girl fathered by a Cleveland man who held her mother captive for a decade will be deleted from the public court record.

The decision by Judge Michael Russo of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court involves the daughter of kidnapper Ariel Castro and one of his three victims, who gave birth on Christmas 2006. The Plain Dealer reports the prosecutor asked to have the child’s name deleted from court records to protect her privacy.

The child’s mother, Amanda Berry, kicked out the door of Castro’s house May 6 and yelled for help, freeing herself, the 6-year-old girl and two other women. DNA evidence confirmed that Castro was the girl’s father.

The 53-year-old Castro pleaded guilty in July. He committed suicide in prison Sept. 3.