 Story highlights Judge sentences Castro to life in prison, plus 1,000 years 
 
 Ariel Castro insists he's not a "violent sexual predator" 
 
 He swears he didn't beat the victims 
 
 Victim Michelle Knight reads impact statement to Castro 
 
 When her chance came, kidnapping victim Michelle Knight lit into Ariel Castro, the man who held her captive and raped her in his Cleveland home for a decade. He said all three women were abducted after Castro offered them a ride and that each was chained in his basement and sexually assaulted within a few hours of being kidnapped. Prosecutors brought a model of the house where Castro, 53, imprisoned the women into the courtroom Thursday ahead of the sentencing. Hide Caption 6 of 12 Photos: Evidence photos from Castro's trial Evidence photos from Castro's trial – Berry and Michelle Knight were forced to wear a helmet the first time Castro sexually assaulted them, according to Andrew Harasimchuk, a detective with the sex crimes unit. Which one of us wouldn't have felt that since Castro was the father of friends, was a local from the neighborhood, not to mention his general demeanor, which is calm and nonthreatening, that it would be okay to get into his vehicle? Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Detective Dave Jacobs said he talked with Castro a few days after the women escaped and that Castro said, "I knew what I did was wrong." In the court filing, McGinty said Castro chained his captives by their ankles, fed them only one meal a day and provided plastic toilets in their bedrooms that were infrequently emptied, the filing said. FBI agent Andrew Burke said Castro turned his house into a prison by creating a makeshift alarm system and chaining them inside bolted bedrooms. Other horrific details of the women's ordeal had already emerged, including tales of being chained to poles in the basement or a bedroom heater or inside a van, with one woman forced to wear a motorcycle helmet while chained in the basement and, after she tried to escape, having a vacuum cord wrapped around her neck. These girls could have been any one of us -- or any of our children. The first police officer on the scene, Barbara Johnson, recalled for the court how she and another officer heard the pitter-patter of footsteps in a dark room where Knight and DeJesus were held. "They were just shouting out a lot of things," said Cleveland police officer Barb Johnson. The women were described as scared, pale, malnourished and dehydrated when they were rescued. Castro, a onetime school bus driver faces sentencing... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - File images from the video provided by Hennes Paynter Communications shows from left: Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. Hide Caption 15 of 15 
 
 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Ariel Castro listens during the sentencing phase of his trial on August 1 in Cleveland alongside defense attorneys Craig Weintraub, left, and Jaye Schlachet. Three months after an Ohio woman kicked out part of a door to end nearly a decade of captivity,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Ariel Castro sits close to a model of the house on Seymour Ave. , where three women were held in the courtroom during the sentencing phase Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Cleveland. He forfeited the house as part of a plea deal with prosecutors that took the death penalty off the table in exchange for a life sentence, plus 1,000 years in prison. Three months after an Ohio woman kicked out part of a door to end nearly a decade of captivity,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Ariel Castro enters the courtroom during the sentencing phase Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Cleveland. Amanda, then aged 16, had just gotten off work at Burger King and was walking when she saw Castro and what she thought was a woman she knew in a car. Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped from a Cleveland home on May 6, 2013, after being held captive for nearly a decade. So they went to his house, and soon Amanda was restrained and raped too. In each case, Castro lured the women into his car with the promise of a ride, according to court documents. Keith Sulzer, "Life is tough, but I'm tougher!" In early July, Berry, DeJesus and Knight released a YouTube video offering their thanks to all those who have helped them since they were freed.
– Ariel Castro has been sentenced to life without parole for kidnapping and other charges related to the three women he held captive in his home for 10 years, the AP reports. Castro spoke at his sentencing hearing today, insisting that "these people are trying to paint me as a monster and I'm not a monster. I'm sick," CNN reports. "I believe I am addicted to porn to the point that it makes me impulsive and I lost it." He also described himself as "a happy person," a "very emotional person," and said he's "not trying to make excuses." (Click for the heartbreaking testimony of Michelle Knight, one of the victims.) More of the testimony coming out, per the AP: A letter left behind by Castro and found in his house read, "I'm a sexual predator," an FBI agent testified. It was titled "Confession and Details." A Cleveland police officer says two of the women rescued from Castro's house jumped into her arms, crying "Save us, save us!" and that one of the victims was reluctant to leave her room at first while another had difficulty breathing. A Cleveland police detective said all three women were abducted after Castro offered them a ride and that each was chained in his basement and sexually assaulted within a few hours of being kidnapped. The FBI agent testified that Castro created a makeshift alarm system and removed doorknobs, among other things, to turn his house into a prison. He also testified that Castro would occasionally pay his victims after raping them, but he then would require them to pay him if they wanted something special from the store. In a court filing, the Cuyahoga County prosecutor said Castro chained his captives by their ankles, fed them only one meal a day, and provided plastic toilets in their bedrooms that were infrequently emptied. At one point, he locked all of them in a vehicle in his garage for three days while he had a visitor, according to the filing. Details also came out of how Castro used his own children to lure the victims into his car and home.