Live Coverage of Ariel Castro's Sentencing Hearing; Ariel Castro Speaks
TIM MCGINTY, CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO, PROSECUTOR: We appreciate whatever sentence you deem appropriate. He took advantage of young and vulnerable children with a planned, prior calculated criminal acts</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your honor, before proceeding, I would offer the binder of our marked exhibits that are in support of the plea agreement and I'll note that state's 18, the firearm, will be retained by the State of Ohio.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Continuing objection to the introduction of the inappropriate material, your honor.</s>JUDGE: Thank you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Judge, specifically, we object to state's exhibit 17, which is the actual full interrogation of Mr. Castro by the police officer. It is my understanding that the one thing that was being introduced at this hearing was going to be the synopsis that was presented by, I believe it was, Detective David Jacobs.</s>JUDGE: We met the other day about this, correct?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. And not the actual video itself.</s>MCGINTY: That's not my understanding. I reached no agreement with anyone on that subject.</s>JUDGE: Do you have the synopsis in here?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we have</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it's not in there, it should be.</s>JUDGE: Well, if you can provide the synopsis which you have read and is a less volatile version of events, that will be accepted by the court. I will return the DVD to you of the actual interview.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's fine.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exhibit 11, your honor, is a three-page written statement of Mr. Castro; that represents a synopsis of the results of the second interview.</s>MCGINTY: Your honor, the statement of Mr. Castro is in no way a synopsis of the more than a dozen hours of interrogation of Mr. Castro. That's Mr. Castro's -- I make you feel sorry for me statement.</s>JUDGE: Mr. McGinty, you seem to be operating under the impression that I don't know what this case is about.</s>MCGINTY: I want the future reader of this record to know what it's about, Judge. Twenty years from now, this guy is setting up his appeals right now. Promise not to appeal, he'll appeal the minute he walks out the door.</s>JUDGE: I don't see the DVD in here. If you have it, keep it. If it is in here, you will have to take it out at the end because the DVD won't be going and you can substitute that ...</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please leave it on the witness stand and I will retrieve it.</s>JUDGE: Thank you. All right, Mr.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Judge, I believe that Mr. Castro is prepared to make a statement.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is, your honor.</s>JUDGE: I just want to see if either of you had anything else to say.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, thank you.</s>JUDGE: All right, so, Mr. Castro, earlier we spoke and you were aware you had a right to make a statement, either with respect to sentencing or by way of mitigation of punishment, so what would you like to say?</s>ARIEL CASTRO, ADMITTED CAPTOR: First of all, I'm very emotional person so I'm going to try to get it out. I stated before that I was a victim of sex acts when I was a child. This led me to view pornography my whole life and eventually after I held jobs because I always worked, and people trying to paint me as a monster, and I am not a monster. I was sick. My sexual problems were so bad in my mind that I am repulsive, but eventually I married and had four children, went on with life and I still practiced the art of touching myself. And I believe I am addicted to porn to the point that it makes me impulsive and I just don't realize what I am doing is wrong and I know it is not an excuse. I am not trying to make excuses here. I know. I am not contesting it. I have been a position, to be a monster like they say I am, I don't think I can handle it. I drove a school bus for 21 years. I did a very good job. Towards the end I started slacking off, trying to get fired because I know it was just too much. This job is too stressful and coming home to my situation and I just -- I never had a record until I left my children's mother. My son was on here the other day saying how abusive I was. He failed to say that at the end before she passed away that them two weren't even talking What I am trying to say is she is saying that I was wife beater, that is wrong. This happened because I couldn't get her to quiet down. The children are right there. Please. She responded I don't care. I don't care if the children are there. She would keep going and the situation would escalate and until the point where she would put her hands on me and that's how I react, by putting my hands on her. I know that's wrong. After 12 years we were separated and then I was single for about five years, and that time I continued to practice the art of masturbation and pornography and got so bad that like maybe two or three hours a day non-stop. When I would finish, I would collapse. I pick up the first victim, I wasn't -- I didn't even plan it. It wasn't something that trying to make look like I did. I went to family dollar and I heard her over saying something about she needed to get somewhere, and I reacted on that. When I got up that day, I did not say, oh, I am going to get up and try to find some women because it just wasn't my character. I know it is wrong, and I know I am not trying to make excuses her. I know I am 100 percent wrong. I am saying that they're trying to say that I am violent person. I am not a violent person. I drove a school bus. I had a family. I do have value for human life. Every time I came home, I was so -- the situation, as crazy as it may sound, and my daughter just made every day for me after she was born. She never saw what was going on and question her and she always say, yes, my dad is the best dad in the world and how I try to raise her and sisters so she won't be traumatized or anything like that. She had a normal life for six years. I tried to take her out into public to give her a normal life and, look, this is how it works and I will take her to church and I will come home and just be normal like a normal family. These accusations that I would come home and beat her, beat them, those are totally wronging, your honor, because like I stated before, I am not a violent person. I know what I did is wrong, but I am not a violent person. I simply kept them there without allowing them to leave. I know when I picked up the second victim, which was Gina, I don't understand how because I</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, your honor.</s>JUDGE: Thank you. Mr. Castro, you have before you your plea agreement. And if you recall on page 10, part of the agreement was that you would execute all necessary documents and perform all acts to transfer right, title and interest in the real property 2207 Seymour Avenue in Cleveland to the Cuyahoga County Land Utilization Corporation, the land bank. So the other day after the plea hearing, that's what you did, is that correct?</s>CASTRO: That's correct.</s>JUDGE: You signed all the papers?</s>CASTRO: Yes, sir.</s>JUDGE: All right. And you understand that you are not entitled to seek any profit. You've agreed not to seek any profit from this matter, correct?</s>JUDGE: You have agreed that you'll not seek any profit from this. In other words, you're not going to be writing a book and receiving funds, you won't be licensing anything.</s>CASTRO: Right. That is correct.</s>JUDGE: The only people that may in the future receive any benefit from this will be the victims, is that clear?</s>CASTRO: Yes.</s>JUDGE: Ms. Knight, thank you for your remarkable restraint during that statement.</s>MICHELLE KNIGHT, KIDNAPPING VICTIM: You're welcome.</s>JUDGE: Mr. Castro, you had several times both during the plea, colloquy and then again today mentioned that you don't feel you're a violent person. Perhaps you're not clearly understanding</s>CASTRO: OK</s>JUDGE: It may be unpleasant to you.</s>JUDGE: Well --</s>CASTRO: You know,</s>JUDGE: That has -</s>JUDGE: By virtue of your plea, that's what you did. You pled guilty to that and by virtue of your plea, when you rape someone, that's what it means. So, Mr. Castro, in sentencing you and all others that come before this court on felony matters and, of course, there's one misdemeanor as well, but in coming before this court on felony matters, I have to comply with the felony sentencing statutes. The overall purpose is to punish the offender and protect the public from future crime by the offender and others using the minimum sanctions that the court determines accomplish those purposes without imposing unnecessary burden on state or local government resources. In imposing sentence, the court must consider the need for incapacitation, deterrents, rehabilitation and restitution. I have to come up with a sentence for you that's commensurate with and not demeaning to the seriousness of your conduct, its impact on the victims, and a sentence that's consistent with sentences for similar crimes by similar offenders. And also the sentence must not be based upon your race, ethnicity, gender or religion. Punish you here in terms of proportionality, which we'll get to later, but is looked back in the cases I've had there have been none in this - that have a scope approaching this, but in terms of harm to a victim, they're similar, although your misconduct here far exceeds the scope and duration of the defendants I'm going to mention. But I note that in Kevin Dominic's (ph) case, which was 300286, I imposed two consecutive life sentences for him.