Prosecutors unveil model of Cleveland house where 3 women were held captive for a decade

August 1, 2013 at 1:04PM
A close-up of a model of the house on Seymour Ave. where Ariel Castro held three women is displayed in court Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Cleveland. Castro, a onetime school bus driver faces sentencing for kidnapping three women and subjecting them to years of sexual and physical abuse. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Cleveland.
A close-up of a model of the house on Seymour Ave. where Ariel Castro held three women is displayed in court Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Cleveland. (Associated Press - Ap/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

CLEVELAND — Prosecutors have unveiled a model of the Cleveland house where convicted kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro imprisoned three women for a decade.

The model was wheeled into a Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County courtroom Thursday ahead of Castro's sentencing on his guilty plea last week to 937 counts, including aggravated murder, kidnapping and rape.

The model is a replica of the house in a blue-collar west side Cleveland neighborhood where investigators say Castro imprisoned the women, often with chains, after abducting them from nearby streets between 2002 and 2004.

Castro's plea deal includes a sentence of life in prison plus 1,000 years.

Judge Michael Russo is expected to conduct a lengthy sentencing hearing that will include evidence from prosecutors about Castro's crimes along with a statement from Castro himself.

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