Ariel Castro, the 53-year-old school bus driver who kidnapped and raped three women for a decade, was sentenced on Thursday to life imprisonment. In addition to that, he was meted 1,000 for aggravated murder, kidnapping, rape and assault.

In giving Mr Castro a harsh sentence, Judge Michael Russo of the Cuyahoga County compared his crime to sex trafficking. "You made them slaves and treated them as if they were not humans. You could not take away their dignity," The Wall Street Journal quoted the judge.

Mr Castro, who pleaded guilty to 937 charges, blamed his behaviour on his sex addiction, sought forgiveness from his victims, but insisted he is not a monster. An unsent note in his house said that Mr Castro describes himself as a sexual predator and admits his is a sick man with no explanation for his crimes.

In response to his request for forgiveness, Michelle Knight said, "I can forgive you, but I cannot forget." She was lured by Mr Castro who invited her to pick out a puppy for her 2-year-old son then, disclosed detective Andrew Harasimchuk.

Mr Castro likewise used connections with his own kids to likewise lure the two other victims, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus into his car, the detective added.

In the four-hour hearing, probers showed pictures of the interior of Mr Castro's house which had doors rigged with alarm clocks, almost 100 feet of chains with padlocks running through rooms and windows with closet doors.

Ms Knight, our who described her 11 years captivity as hell, told her captor, "Now your hell is just beginning. You will face hell for eternity."

"From this moment on, I will not let you define me, or affect whom I am. I will live on, you will die a little every day," BBC quoted Ms Knight.