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| Ohio suspect Ariel Castro arraigned on rape and kidnapping charges | Ohio suspect Ariel Castro arraigned on rape and kidnapping charges |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| An Ohio former school bus driver was arraigned on Thursday on charges of rape and kidnap after three women missing for years were found imprisoned in his home. | An Ohio former school bus driver was arraigned on Thursday on charges of rape and kidnap after three women missing for years were found imprisoned in his home. |
| His hands in cuffs, Ariel Castro bowed his head during the hearing at Cleveland municipal court. Judge Lauren Moore set his bond at $2m for each of the women and a child who was born in captivity. | |
| Police say the ordeal of Amanda Berry, 27, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32, ended on Monday when Berry saw a chance to break free from Castro's house and alert neighbours. When Castro was out, Berry hammered on the front door, attracting the attention of passers-by who helped her escape. She emerged from the house with a six-year-old daughter. | |
| Castro face threes counts of rape, relating to the women, and four counts of kidnap, which include the child. | Castro face threes counts of rape, relating to the women, and four counts of kidnap, which include the child. |
| Brian Murphy, the assistant prosecuting attorney at Cuyahoga County told the judge that Castro's home "was a prison to these three women and the child". He added: "Today the situation is turned on him. Mr Castro stands before you a captive, in captivity, a prisoner." | |
| Castro did not speak and did not enter a plea during the court hearing. He did not look towards the gallery, filled with media and spectators. "He did not want to be on camera," his court-appointed lawyer, Kathleen DeMetz, said after the hearing. | |
| She said Castro would need $800,000 cash to get out of jail. "The man doesn't have any money," she said. "He clearly doesn't have that." | |
| DeMetz told the court that Castro was unemployed after being fired from his job driving school buses last November. She said he was on suicide watch in jail and was expected to be held in isolation. | |
| Police say Castro has waived his right to remain silent and has been talking extensively. The three women have also been interviewed. Berry and DeJesus went home to relatives on Wednesday. Knight was reported in good condition at Metro Health Medical Center, which a day earlier had said that all three victims had been released. | Police say Castro has waived his right to remain silent and has been talking extensively. The three women have also been interviewed. Berry and DeJesus went home to relatives on Wednesday. Knight was reported in good condition at Metro Health Medical Center, which a day earlier had said that all three victims had been released. |
| The three women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004 and were found Monday after one of them screamed for help to escape and contacted police. The Guardian does not usually identify the victims of sexual assault but the names of the three women were circulated widely by family and law enforcement agencies for years during their disappearance. | The three women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004 and were found Monday after one of them screamed for help to escape and contacted police. The Guardian does not usually identify the victims of sexual assault but the names of the three women were circulated widely by family and law enforcement agencies for years during their disappearance. |
| Prosecutors said on Wednesday there was no evidence that Castro's two brothers, arrested at the same time as him, had played any part in the crime. | Prosecutors said on Wednesday there was no evidence that Castro's two brothers, arrested at the same time as him, had played any part in the crime. |
| Ed Tomba, the deputy police chief of Cleveland, said on Wednesday the women had only ever left the house twice, when Castro allegedly forced them, in disguise, to the garage. | Ed Tomba, the deputy police chief of Cleveland, said on Wednesday the women had only ever left the house twice, when Castro allegedly forced them, in disguise, to the garage. |
| Tomba said he would not go into details about whether there had been any other pregnancies in the years the women had been held in the house. But police said earlier in the day that they were apparently bound with ropes and chains, and a city councilman briefed on the case, Brian Cummins, said that they were subjected to prolonged sexual and psychological abuse and suffered miscarriages. | Tomba said he would not go into details about whether there had been any other pregnancies in the years the women had been held in the house. But police said earlier in the day that they were apparently bound with ropes and chains, and a city councilman briefed on the case, Brian Cummins, said that they were subjected to prolonged sexual and psychological abuse and suffered miscarriages. |
| "We know that the victims have confirmed miscarriages, but with who, how many and what conditions we don't know," Cummins said. He added: "It sounds pretty gruesome." | "We know that the victims have confirmed miscarriages, but with who, how many and what conditions we don't know," Cummins said. He added: "It sounds pretty gruesome." |
| Berry's baby was born in a plastic inflatable children's swimming pool on Christmas Day, 2006, authorities said. A paternity test will be conducted to determine the girl's father. | |
| Cummins said the victims were kept apart in the house until their captor at some point gained sufficient confidence in his control over them to allow them to mingle. While separated in the house, the three women were isolated in different rooms but were aware of the others' presence, police said. | |
| Authorities said the women recalled leaving the confines of the house just twice during their captivity, ushered on both occasions into a separate garage on the small lot while disguised in wigs and hats. | |
| The women also told police their abductions occurred when Castro offered them rides and they accepted, authorities said. | |
| Prosecutors said that Castro's two brothers, Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50, were not linked to the women's disappearance and captivity.The two men were held on outstanding warrants for separate misdemeanour cases. | |
| It has emerged that Castro was accused of twice breaking the nose of his children's mother, knocking out a tooth, dislocating each shoulder and threatening to kill her and her daughters. | It has emerged that Castro was accused of twice breaking the nose of his children's mother, knocking out a tooth, dislocating each shoulder and threatening to kill her and her daughters. |
| According to a 2005 domestic-violence filing in Cuyahoga County domestic relations court, Grimilda Figueroa alleged that Castro frequently abducted her daughters and kept them from her. Figueroa died in April 2012 after a battle with cancer. | According to a 2005 domestic-violence filing in Cuyahoga County domestic relations court, Grimilda Figueroa alleged that Castro frequently abducted her daughters and kept them from her. Figueroa died in April 2012 after a battle with cancer. |
| Figueroa's father, Ismail Figueroa, said Wednesday that Castro would regularly lock his daughter inside a second-floor apartment in the house where they lived when they were first together. | Figueroa's father, Ismail Figueroa, said Wednesday that Castro would regularly lock his daughter inside a second-floor apartment in the house where they lived when they were first together. |
| Grimilda was "not allowed to go nowhere," said Villanueva. No matter where she wanted to go, "it had to be with him." | Grimilda was "not allowed to go nowhere," said Villanueva. No matter where she wanted to go, "it had to be with him." |
| Associated Press and Reuters in Cleveland contributed to this report | |
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