Ariel Castro Claims He's Sick: 'I'm Not A Monster'

During his sentencing, Ariel Castro claimed he was not a violent "monster." But it’s practically certain that the rest of the nation doesn't agree with him. Castro kept Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus locked up for more than a decade, beating and raping them, but he's maintained that he differs from the way he's been described by prosecutors and the woman he held captive.

When it was Castro’s time to make his statement, he essentially said he was a sex addict, according to People.com, and he added that he was a victim to his addiction and was not a predator.

"These people are trying to paint me as a monster, I'm not a monster, I'm sick," he said, according to the news site, and maintained he was not violent.

"These accusations that I would come home and beat them, those are totally wrong Your Honor,” Castro added. “I know what I did was wrong. I'm not a violent person, I simply kept them there without being able to leave ... I just wanted to clear the record that I'm not a monster."

"They're trying to say that I'm a violent person, I'm not a violent person. I drove a school bus, I [was] a musician, I have a family," he continued. "I do have value for human life because every time I came home, I would be so glad for [the] situation, as crazy as it sounds."

Judge Michael Russo sentenced the Ohio captor to a life sentence in prison without the chance of parole plus 1,000 years. Castro faced the very real possibility of execution, but last week he pled guilty to more than 900 charges including murder, kidnapping and rape.

"You don't deserve to be out in our community," Russo told the defendant, according to CNN. "You're too dangerous."