Two members of an extreme body modification ring have been jailed over “disgusting” procedures to remove the “willing” leader’s penis and left leg.
Warning: The following article contains graphic details of extreme physical mutilation
Marius Gustavson, 46, was the “mastermind” behind the “lucrative” pay-per-view “eunuch maker” website, where subscribers could watch videos of the procedures, the Old Bailey heard.
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC said he led the “widespread practice” of extreme body modification over more than five years, including “the removal of genitals and testicles, clamping of testicles to the point of castration and the freezing of a limb required to be amputated”.
Ten men have been charged over their alleged participation – including Damien Byrnes, 36, nurse Nathaniel Arnold, 48, and Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23 – who each pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent.
Norwegian national Gustavson was said to be the “willing victim” when Byrnes cut off his penis, Arnold removed the tip of his nipple and Crimi-Appleby froze his left leg so that it had to be amputated at his flat in Harringay, north London.
Arnold also admitted the theft of local anaesthetic lidocaine from the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where he worked in the dermatology unit, and possession of extreme pornography.
Judge Marck Lucraft KC jailed Byrnes, from Tottenham, north London, for five years, and Crimi-Appleby, from Epsom, Surrey, for three years and eight months.
Arnold from South Kensington, west London, was handed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years.
The judge said Gustavson “agreed and consented” to the procedures, “played a pivotal role” in all of the modifications that took place and controlled the website, which “generated considerable interest and significant financial gain”.
“It is clear these procedures were done for sexual motives in addition to financial gain,” the judge said.
“To many looking at this case, the activity will appear at the very least disgusting and abhorrent.”
Gustavson, who has admitted charges including conspiracy to commit GBH relating to procedures he carried out on others, faces sentencing in March.
He appeared by video-link from Wandsworth prison, making notes throughout the sentencing hearing.
The court heard Byrnes, who was initially hired by Gustavson as an escort, “readily agreed” to perform a modification, knowing it would be filmed and uploaded to the website to generate revenue.
His face was clearly shown in the video of him removing Gustavson’s penis in what was described as “a life-threatening procedure performed in a non-medical environment”.
He is heard to say: “Well that’s one off the bucket list. I never expected that one.”
Gustavson called an ambulance following the procedure and was taken to hospital for treatment, including surgery.
Byrnes, who wept in court, said he was paid £1,500 and the court heard his motivation was “financial rather than sexual”.
The judge said he had expressed “horror” and remorse about what he had done and told a probation officer: “I could have killed him.”
Leader claimed disability benefits after freezing leg
Crimi-Appleby admitted freezing Gustavson’s left leg so that it had to be amputated in February 2019.
A video for the eunuch maker website shows Gustavson sitting on a bed with his left leg in a bucket saying “ooh this is cold” as Crimi-Appleby adds dry ice.
Gustavson was treated at the Royal Free Hospital following the procedure, which lasted at least eight hours, and eventually resulted in his left leg being amputated below the knee.
The court heard how he now uses a wheelchair and claimed £18,500 in disability benefits after being discharged two months later.
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Arnold, who was struck off the nursing register following his arrest, admitted removing the tip of Gustavson’s nipple with a disposable surgical blade in the summer of 2019.
Referred to as “Nurse Nate” in messages by Gustavson, the prosecutor said he was both a “victim”, having undergone a genital mutilation procedure himself, and a perpetrator of harm.
