Ariel Castro competent to stand trial in Cleveland kidnapping case

The man accused of kidnapping and holding three women hostage in his Cleveland home for more than a decade has been declared competent to stand trial.

An Ohio judge found that Ariel Castro is mentally fit to stand trial on more than 329 charges of raping and kidnapping Amanda Berry, now 27, Michelle Knight, 32 and Gina DeJesus, 23.

Prosecutors allege that Castro abducted the three young women off the street between 2002 and 2004 when they were just 14, 16 and 20 years old.

He faces charges of holding the women captive in his Cleveland home for a decade until one of the victims escaped in May and asked a neighbor for help.

Castro also faces a charge of aggravated murder after allegedly beating and starving a victim until she had a miscarriage. The murder charge could prompt prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

Castro, 52, has plead not guilty to all of the charges but the Los Angeles Times reports that his attorneys have hinted that he might plead guilty if talk of capital punishment was taken off the table.

Cuyahoga County Judge Michael Russo also denied Castro's request to see the six-year-old child he allegedly fathered with one of the kidnapping victims.

"I won't be allowing that, not during the pendency of this case," Russo said. "I just don't think that would be appropriate."

Castro's adult children are allowed to visit him if they wish, the judge said.

Jury selection for the trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 5.