Cleveland captives seek privacy

A representative of the three captives held for almost a decade in Cleveland home says the women are seeking time to recover.
Chicago: The brothers of the US man charged with kidnapping and raping three women, locking them in his home for a decade, say they had no idea what was happening.
"If I knew that my brother was doing this, I would not be, not - in a minute, I would call the cops because that ain't right," Pedro Castro, 54, told CNN.
"It's going to haunt me down because people going to think, yeah, Pedro got something to do with this. And Pedro don't have nothing to do with this," Pedro said. 
"If I knew, I would have reported it, brother or no brother," he added.
Didn't know what their brother allegedly did: Onil and Pedro Castro are interviewed on CNN.
Didn't know what their brother allegedly did: Onil and Pedro Castro are interviewed on CNN. Photo: CNN
Pedro and his youngest brother, 50-year-old Onil, were arrested soon after their brother Ariel Castro on Monday, when the three women, and a daughter born to one of them while in captivity, were discovered at Ariel's home in Cleveland, Ohio.
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But Pedro and Onil were later released, with police saying there was no evidence they participated in the crimes.
In the interview, both said they feared they would never fully be freed of the suspicion raised after police announced their arrest and made their mug shots public.
In court: From left, brothers Onil Castro, Pedro Castro and Ariel Castro.
In court: From left, brothers Onil Castro, Pedro Castro and Ariel Castro. Photo: Reuters
"It's going to haunt me down because people going to think, yeah, Pedro got something to do with this. And Pedro don't have nothing to do with this," Pedro said.
His brother, Onil, concurred, adding, "The people out there that know me, they know that Onil Castro is not that person and has nothing to do with that. Would never even think of something like that."
The two, and their 71-year-old mother, are in hiding, saying people have thrown rocks at their homes and sent them death threats over the internet, CNN reported.
Pedro Castro, brother of accused kidnapper Ariel Castro.
Pedro Castro, brother of accused kidnapper Ariel Castro.
Ariel Castro, a 52-year-old unemployed bus driver, was arrested after one of the victims, 27-year-old Amanda Berry, managed to call out to a neighbour, who kicked in the door to the suspect's home and rescued her and her six-year-old daughter.
Police arrived on the scene and entered the house, finding two more women - 23-year-old Gina DeJesus and 32-year-old Michelle Knight.
All three had been snatched in separate incidents around a decade earlier.
Onil Castro, brother of accused kidnapper Ariel Castro.
Onil Castro, brother of accused kidnapper Ariel Castro.Photo: CNN
In a statement read by a lawyer for the victims, Jim Wooley, the three women said they were happy to be home and needed time to heal.
"I'm so happy to be home and want to thank everybody for all your prayers. I just want time now to be with my family," said DeJesus, according to the statement.
Berry offered similar words, while Knight said she was "healthy, happy and safe and will reach out to family, friends and supporters in good time."
But Wooley said, despite "numerous requests" for interviews, the three women would stay silent for now.
"First, there is a pending criminal investigation and prosecution," he said, adding the three women were "victims and witnesses".
"It is not in the best interests of anyone connected with that proceeding for Ms Berry, Ms DeJesus, and Ms Knight to be making statements to the media while that proceeding is pending."
And he added, "Second, and most importantly, Ms Berry, Ms DeJesus, and Ms Knight have asked - in fact, have pleaded - for privacy at this time so that they can continue to heal and reconnect with their families.
The prosecutor has said investigators would go back over the many torments Castro allegedly inflicted on the women during their long ordeal, with the aim of bringing additional charges, including ones that may carry the death penalty.
Castro was ordered held on an $US8 million ($A7.96 million) bond on Thursday.
AFP