Spokeswoman: Ariel Castro 'calm and cooperative'

AP

CLEVELAND (AP) — A Cleveland man sentenced to life in prison for holding three women captive over a decade and raping them repeatedly has been moved to a correctional institution.

Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokeswoman JoEllen Smith says Ariel Castro was moved Friday from a Cleveland jail to the Lorain Correctional Institution in Grafton, 24 miles away. She describes Castro as "calm and cooperative."

Officials say Castro won't go into the general population once he enters the state's prison system. He'll start his term isolated from other inmates for his own protection because of his high profile. He'll undergo medical and mental health evaluations.

Also Friday, organizers of the Cleveland Courage Fund to help the women Castro pleaded guilty to kidnapping say the fund has raised more than $1.3 million.