Ariel Castro expected to speak at his sentencing

The Cleveland man who pleaded guilty to holding three women captive in his home for a decade is to speak at his sentencing hearing Thursday, his attorney said. At least one of Ariel Castro's victims -- Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight -- is also expected to speak, authorities said. It's possible all three women Castro kidnapped, held captive, raped and tortured will be at the hearing, authorities told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. The women and their families might use a separate courtroom next door, if they attend, the newspaper said. If the women appear in the same courtroom as Castro, it would be their first time in the same room as their captor since they escaped from his Cleveland home May 6. Security at the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court has been tightened, officials said. Castro attorney Craig Weintraub told WOIO-TV, Cleveland, he and Castro both planned to make a short statement. Weintraub said he didn't know what Castro would say. When he entered a guilty plea to 937 counts of a 977-count indictment last week, Castro told Judge Michael J. Russo about his "addiction to pornography" and his "sexual problem" before Russo cut him off. Russo told Castro, 53, he could speak about his problems during the sentencing hearing. Castro's guilty plea Friday included two charges of aggravated murder in connection with terminating the pregnancy of one of his captives. The plea deal, giving him life in prison without parole plus 1,000 years, would spare him from the death penalty. Russo was expected to accept the deal, The New York Times said. Accepting the deal would mean a trial Castro faced starting Aug. 5 would be canceled, which would spare his victims from having to testify. The sentencing hearing is expected to feature witnesses and evidence gathered over the course of the investigation. Court documents filed Wednesday describe the women's terrible conditions during their captivity. The document, provided by WEWS-TV, Cleveland, can be found at tinyurl.com/UPI-Sentencing-Memorandum. Some of its content may be disturbing. Castro abducted Berry, DeJesus and Knight separately over two years starting in 2002, authorities say. The young women were rescued after Berry kicked in a screen door and yelled to neighbors for help. A 6-year-old daughter of Berry, fathered by Castro, was also rescued. As part of the plea agreement with prosecutors, Castro would forfeit his home and his savings. Prosecutors said his home would be demolished soon.