CLEVELAND: The man convicted of holding three women captive in a house he turned into a prison and raping them repeatedly for a decade was sentenced August 1 to life without parole plus 1,000 years. Ariel Castro, 53, apologized to his victims in a rambling, defiant statement before he was sentenced. He blamed a sex addiction, his former wife and even the FBI for not thoroughly investigating the abductions 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.” Just before the sentencing, one of three women he kidnapped stood within feet of Castro and told 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 Castro abducted in 2002 after he lured her into his house with the promise of a puppy for her son. Relatives of the other two victims spoke on their behalf.

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. Castro pleaded guilty last week to 937 counts including aggravated murder, kidnapping, rape and assault. A deal struck with prosecutors Friday spared him from a possible death sentence for beating and starving a pregnant victim until she miscarried. The judge told Castro that there was no place in the world for people who enslave others. “These women never gave up hope,” Russo said. “In fact, they prevailed.” As Castro was led away, Knight watched, smiling.

Thursday’s hearing gave prosecutors a chance to detail some of Castro’s assaults and law enforcement a chance to describe the jury-rigged prison he built in his ramshackle home. FBI agent Andrew Burke said Castro created a makeshift alarm system and chained the women inside bolted bedrooms. Bedroom windows were boarded shut from the inside with heavy closet doors and doorknobs had been removed and replaced with multiple locks, he said. The house was divided in ways to make it more secure and to hide the existence of rooms, he said.