Alleged US kidnapper to appear in court

Two of the three Ohio kidnapping victims have been reunited with their families. Source: AAP

THE former US school bus driver charged with holding three young women in captivity and raping them in a decade-long horror is due to appear in an Ohio court on Thursday, three days after their dramatic rescue.

One of the captives gave birth to a daughter during the years they spent confined in the modest home of Ariel Castro, 52.

They were unable to escape until Monday, when Amanda Berry - the mother of the six-year-old girl - managed to scream for help from a neighbour and kicked through front door screen, then used a neighbour's phone to call emergency services.

Berry, 27, and 23-year-old Gina DeJesus were joyously reunited with their families on Wednesday, while Michelle Knight, 32 continues to receive medical treatment.

Police interrogated their alleged captor and searched another house on the same Cleveland street.

Castro is accused of raping all three, city prosecutor Victor Perez said.

He also faces four counts of kidnapping, related to the three women and Berry's daughter Jocelyn, who was born in captivity.

Castro is due in court Thursday for arraignment.

His two brothers are also scheduled to make a court appearance, but on misdemeanour charges unrelated to the kidnappings and rapes, authorities said.

The women are believed to have only been allowed to leave the home briefly on two occasions, both times to go into the house's garage "in disguise", Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba told reporters.

"They don't believe they've been outside of the home for the last 10 years," he said.

"They were not in one room, but they did know each other and they did know each other was there."

He confirmed that FBI investigators in protective suits had searched another house on the same street, without providing further details.

Tomba said that a paternity test on Ariel Castro was being done to establish who fathered Berry's child.

The police chief refused to comment on reports that Castro had impregnated Knight at least five times and would punch her in the stomach until she miscarried.

Police Chief Michael McGrath earlier told NBC he was "absolutely" sure police did everything they could to find the women over the years.

He disputed claims by neighbours that officers had been called to the house before for suspicious circumstances.

Castro, a former school bus driver whose family hails from Puerto Rico, has been described as a friendly neighbour who raised few suspicions but who also kept to himself, rarely if ever allowing anyone inside his home.

"Ariel kept everybody at a distance," Tomba said. "He ran the show."

Castro was accused in a 2005 family court filing of beating his ex-wife Grimilda Figueroa, who passed away last year, and of "frequently" abducting their two daughters, but he was never charged.

Castro's two brothers - Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50 - were also detained on Monday because they were with Ariel when he was arrested, but will not be charged in connection with the kidnapping.

Tomba refused to discuss specifics of the evidence discovered in the home, but earlier, city police chief Michael McGrath had said the women were "bound and there were chains and ropes in the hall".

Berry arrived on Wednesday at her sister's home in an SUV escorted by police motorcycles and FBI agents.

The porch was bedecked with balloons and messages of support. Well-wishers - and a media scrum - were waiting.

The crowd broke into applause when her sister Beth Serrano came out and made a brief statement thanking residents and asking for privacy.

Later, DeJesus was escorted into her family home by relatives, sheltering under a yellow hooded top but managing to give a weak wave to supporters, who were chanting "Gina, Gina, Gina."

"She's ecstatic to be home, she's happy. Her face, her smile, the hugging says it all," her mother Nancy Ruiz told reporters.

"It's like a dream," Ruiz added. "My first reaction as I saw my daughter, the only thing I did was grab her and hug her. I didn't want to let go."

In newly-released police audio tapes, an emergency dispatcher notifies officers on Monday that she's just spoken to a woman who "says her name is Amanda Berry and that she had been kidnapped 10 years ago".

An officer on the recorded call says, "This might be for real."

After police arrive at the house, women can be heard crying in the background. Then an officer tells the dispatcher: "We found 'em. We found 'em."

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