'I'm sorry for what my son has done': Tearful apology of Ariel Castro's mother who says she's 'a mother in a lot of pain' 

• Apology from Lillian Rodriguez who calls herself 'a mother in a lot of pain'
• She 'had met the girl, 6, born in the home who called her grandmother'
  
• She spoke out as her son Ariel Castro, 52, was formally charged with three counts of rape and four counts of kidnapping
• His brother, Pedro and Onil, do not face charges in the case
  

By Lydia Warren

PUBLISHED: 13:47 EST, 9 May 2013 | UPDATED: 14:50 EST, 9 May 2013

The mother of Ariel Castro, who was today formally charged with imprisoning three women for a decade, has tearfully apologized for his actions and said she is 'in a lot of pain'.

Lillian Rodriguez spoke to reporters from the window of her car as she left her home, which she shares with her son Pedro, who was also arrested in connection with the kidnappings but who has not been charged.

'I am a mother in a lot of pain,' she said in Spanish. 'I am sorry for what my son has done.'

She added that she is sorry for the mothers of the three women - Amanda Berry, 26, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32 - whom her son allegedly raped and beat while holding them captive.

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Apology: Lillian Rodriguez spoke to reporters as she left her home to says she was sorry for her son's actions

Police are believed to have questioned Rodriguez earlier this week, but there is no indication she knew of her son's allegedly heinous crimes.

She did, however, know the six-year-old girl, Jocelyn, who was born to Berry while she was held captive. Authorities said it is likely the suspect is the father but are carrying out paternity DNA tests.

The young girl was the only victim to ever leave the fortified home on Seymour Avenue and is believed to have called Rodriguez 'grandmother'.

In a separate interview, also with The Plain Dealer, Castro's cousin, Maria Castro-Montes, also apologized to the women.

'We are horribly sorry for what the three of you went through,' she said, adding that Castro does not 'define this family and we hope that people don't judge an entire family on one persons actions.' 

Ariel Castro's mother cries, pleads for forgiveness

'Grandmother': It is believed that Rodriguez met the six-year-old girl who was born in the house

Speaking out: She spoke with reporters outside her home, which she shares with one of her sons

'We will get through this, our greatest concern is for those three girls,' she said. 'From one family to another, we feel your pain. I feel horrible that their families for their daughters for so many years. Those families always believe.'

With tears in her eyes, she added that she never suspected Ariel's dark secret, calling him a loving cousin, father and son, during a television interview on Thursday.

Castro's daughter, Arlene Castro, also became emotional as she asked for the forgiveness of Gina DeJesus, her best friend.

Ms Castro had been the last person to see DeJesus, then 14, before she was allegedly snatched by her father in 2004 and imprisoned in his Cleveland home.
'I'm absolutely so, so sorry,' she told GMA as tears rolled down her cheeks. 'I really want to see you

In court: Ariel Castro was formally charged with kidnapping and raping the three women on Thursday

Locked up: Castro talks with his public defender, Kathleen DeMetz, during his arraignment on the charges

Released: Brothers Onil (left) and Pedro (right) were not charged in connection with the kidnappings

Gina and I want you to meet my kids. I'm so sorry for everything.'

Gina, who said she was not close with her father, added: 'I'm really disappointed, embarrassed, devastated about this whole situation.'

Their comments came as Castro, 52, was formally charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape after the three women and one of their six-year-old daughters escaped the home.

His brothers, Pedro and Onil, were also arrested on Monday in connection with the crimes but have now been released after authorities found no evidence to charge them.

Instead they faced other charges: Pedro Castro, 54, pleaded no contest to an open container charge from July 2011 and was fined $100. He was released.

Emotional: Ariel Castro's daughter Arlene burst into tears as she apologized to her best friend Gina DeJesus, who was kidnapped by her father and held captive for nearly 10 years

Old days: Arlene Castro in pictured with her best friend, Gina DeJesus, left, before she vanished

Onil Castro, 50, was also released after the judge threw out charges of drug abuse and carrying an open container from November 2001.

After the court appearance on Thursday morning, they went to collect their car at an impound lot but have not yet returned to their homes, the Plain Dealer reported.

As media swarmed their houses, one of Onil's neighbors, Dolores Essenburg, told the Plain Dealer that Onil and Pedro were 'real good guys'.

It was echoed by Pedro's neighbor, Mike Jones, who added: 'He's a good guy. He never bothered nobody. He always put [Ariel] down. He didn't like him.'

Castro refused to look up at judge Lauren Moore or face the bank of TV cameras inside the courtroom today. He did not speak or acknowledge the judge when she set bond at $8 million.

Locked up: Three missing women were found at this home, owned by Castro, in Cleveland on Monday

Found: Gina DeJesus, left, was just 14 when she vanished in 2004, while another alleged victim Amanda Berry, right, was 16 when she went missing in 2003. Both women were found on Monday

Missing: Michelle Knight, now 32, was also found inside the home, nearly 11 years after she went missing

Prosecutor Brian Murphy told the court Castro had kidnapped the three women, two of whom were then young teenagers, for his 'self gratifying and self serving ways'.

He said their ordeal lasted more than a decade during which time they were beaten and sexually assaulted by Castro and never allowed to leave the residence where he held them captive.

'As inexplicably as they disappeared they reappeared this week,' Murphy told the hearing. 'Today the situation has turned, your honor. Mr Castro stands before you a captive, in captivity, a prisoner, and the women are free.

'Free to resume their lives with the promise that justice will be served to to protect the victims and the community he manipulated and deceived.'

Reunited: Amanda Berry (center) is pictured with her sister Beth and her six-year-old daughter Jocelyn

Return: Gina gives a thumbs-up for the crowds as she is escorted toward her home on Wednesday

Castro, a former school bus driver, showed no reaction during the prosecutor's statement, staring intently at the floor and trying to hide his face in his jumpsuit.

The arraignment is the first step in the legal process. He will next appear at the Cuyahoga County Court where evidence will be presented to a Grand Jury to decide if the case should proceed.

It was revealed in a police press conference yesterday that Ariel Castro waived his Miranda rights and provided a detailed statement to police. He claimed there are no more victims.

It also emerged that among the 200 items collected from his home was a letter, in which Castro allegedly confesses to his crimes and writes about his desire to kill himself 'and give all the money I saved to my victims'.

House of horrors: In a photograph taken in 2001, suspect Ariel Castro stands with a former girlfriend in front of a padlocked door, which led to the basement where he allegedly kept the girls

Horrible details have begun to emerge about what the girls may have been forced to endure over the last decade at the hands of their captors.

Local police sources revealed that Ariel Castro would use a sick game to 'train' the three girls not to run away by pretending to leave the house, only to beat them if they tried to run free.

This is said to be just one of the manipulative tactics he used to keep the three young women in his house for up to ten years, in addition to rapes, frequent beatings and chains hanging from the ceiling.

Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry returned home to their families on Wednesday.