Ariel Castro, the 52-year-old Cleveland man who was accused of kidnapping three women and imprisoning them in his home for a decade, begged the judge at today’s pre-trial hearing for permission to see his 6-year-old daughter. He allegedly fathered the girl, Jocelyn, with one of his hostages, Amanda Berry.
Cuyahoga County Judge Michael Russo immediately denied Castro, who had just been deemed mentally competent to stand trial, the privilege of seeing his daughter.
According to TheDailyMail, Judge Russo said, “I just think it would be inappropriate.”
The three women who were allegedly held captive and torturted in Castro’s basement since the early 2000’s are Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight, and Berry, who is the caretaker of their daughter Jocelyn. They miraculously escaped on May 6th.
According to ABCNews, Knight was also impregnated by Castro during her captivity, but he forced an abortion on her by beating her up.
Last month, Castro pleaded not guilty to 329 indictments including rape, kidnapping, and aggravated murder of a fetus, which could essentially earn him the death penalty. On August 5th, they will begin jury selection for his trial.