Were Cleveland women raped after they were kidnapped?

Reports emerge of multiple pregnancies at house on Seymour Avenue; Castro beat his wife after divorce

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A CLEVELAND judge has given police until tonight to charge the three brothers being held over the abduction of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. It now seems likely that charges could include rape and/or assault as well as kidnapping after it was claimed yesterday that at least five babies were born at Ariel Castro's house during the decade of the women's incarceration. These are the major new developments overnight:

Multiple pregnancies: Unofficial police sources have told WKYC that the women were beaten when they became pregnant so that the babies would not survive childbirth. The circumstances of the birth Amanda Berry's six-year-old daughter Jocelyn, who escaped with the women on Monday, have not yet been divulged. Police confirmed yesterday that Jocelyn was born in captivity but would not say which of the three Castro brothers – if any – was the father.

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