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Woman Raped, Held Captive in Cleveland House of Horrors Finds Joy but Prays 'God Blesses Me with Little One'

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Five years have passed since the world was shocked by the story of torture and kidnappings at a house in Cleveland, Ohio.

Three abducted women had escaped years of physical and sexual abuse endured during a decade-long captivity. The women were held in chains, raped and beaten during their captivity.

They were rescued from the run-down house of captor Ariel Castro on May 6, 2013, after one of them broke through a screen door. 

Thirty-seven-year-old Michelle Knight was the first to be kidnapped.  

She told her story in her first book, Finding Me in 2014.  

Her new book, Life After Darkness: Finding Healing and Happiness After the Cleveland Kidnappings, is being released Tuesday.

'Today's the day," she posted on Facebook.  "Don't forget to pick up your copy of "Life After Darkness."

Knight, who has changed her name to Lily Rose Lee, now lives in Ohio and is happily married, telling TODAY's Megyn Kelly "I've found joy in my life."

The couple tied the knot on the second anniversary of the day Lee was rescued, May 6, 2015.

Castro impregnated her several times and then beat her until she miscarried.  Doctors have told her she will never be able to have children.

But Lee, who is a Christian, says she has forgiven Castro and still hopes and prays "that God blesses me with a little one."

At the time she was kidnapped, Lee had a 2-year-old son, whose face she says was her source of hope during her captivity, including when she thought of taking her own life.

After she was freed, she discovered her son had been adopted and has chosen not to contact him. 

"I decided a while back to let him be able to go through school and heal in a certain way, and then when later on in life he was ready to come and talk to me, I would be open arms," she told The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Castro was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years. He hanged himself in his prison cell a few months later. The house was torn down and replaced by a park.

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About The Author

Charlene Aaron
Charlene
Aaron

Charlene Aaron serves as a general assignment reporter, news anchor, co-host of The 700 Club, co-host of 700 Club Interactive, and co-host of The Prayerlink on the CBN News Channel. She covers various social issues, such as abortion, gender identity, race relations, and more. Before joining CBN News in 2003, she was a personal letter writer for Dr. Pat Robertson. Charlene attended Old Dominion University and Elizabeth City State University. She is an ordained minister and pastor’s wife. She lives in Smithfield, VA, with her husband.