July 3: Ariel Castro is led into Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland for a pretrial hearing (AP)
A man charged with holding three women captive in his Cleveland home for about a decade and raping them has been found competent to stand trial.
A Cuyahoga County judge said during a hearing Wednesday that an examination found that 52-year-old Ariel Castro is mentally able to understand the charges and assist attorneys in his defense.
Castro has pleaded not guilty to a 329 count indictment that includes multiple kidnapping and rape charges. He's being held on an $8 million bond.
Authorities accuse him of kidnapping the women between 2002 and 2004 when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old.
A trial is scheduled for Aug. 5, but the judge said it could be delayed.
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