Video: Ohio kidnapper Ariel Castro sentenced to life without parole The man who imprisoned three women in his home, subjecting them to a decade of rapes and beatings, pleaded guilty on Friday in a deal to avoid the death penalty. Ariel Castro told the judge he was addicted pornography, had a "sexual problem" and had been a sexual abuse victim himself long ago. In exchange, prosecutors recommended Castro be sentenced to life without parole plus 1,000 years. Castro, 53, said he understood that he would never get out of prison, saying he expected he was "going to get the book thrown at me." He later added, "I knew that when I first spoke to the FBI agent when I first got arrested." Castro, wearing glasses for the first time in court, was far more interactive than in previous court appearances when he mostly kept his head down and eyes closed. During Friday's hearing, he answered the judge's questions in a clear, intelligible voice, saying he understood the proceedings and that he would never be released from prison. Castro had been scheduled for trial on August 5 on a 977-count indictment, but he was pleading guilty to 937 counts in a hearing that stretched on for more than two hours. The indictment included two counts of aggravated murder related to accusations that he punched and starved one woman until she miscarried. The former school bus driver also was charged with hundreds of counts of kidnapping and rape, plus assault and other counts. The sticking point on a plea deal had been whether the prosecutor would rule out the death penalty. The Cuyahoga County prosecutor had kept that issue under review.