One of two inmates who held a pair of officers hostage at Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis has apologized for storming the prison watchtower and for the sexual assaults the other inmate is accused of committing during the 15-day ordeal that ended Feb. 1.

In letters to the Associated Press, Ricky Wassenaar said he wanted to offer his "most sincere and deepest apologies" to the female correctional officer who was held throughout the standoff and to a kitchen worker, both of whom said they were raped by Wassenaar's accomplice, Steven Coy.

"I messed up when I took the officers hostage in the tower, and I will die in prison for it," Wassenaar said.

But please know that I always treated the officers with dignity and respect. They were fed when hungry, drank when thirsty, and wanted for nothing but their release," he said.

Wassenaar's letters, one of which was a direct response to a letter from the AP, are his first public admission of remorse for the standoff.

Wassenaar said he didn't know Coy was a convicted rapist.

"I would not have chosen him to participate had I known," Wassenaar wrote. "We obviously had different agendas on Jan. 18."

Coy has not responded to letters from the AP requesting an interview.