Man accused of carrying out castrations and broadcasting footage on 'eunuch maker' website in court
A man accused of carrying out castrations on other men and broadcasting the footage on his “eunuch maker” website has appeared in court.
Marius Gustavson, from Haringey, and eight others from London, Newport, Surrey and Scotland, are alleged to have performed extreme body modifications, including the removal of penises and testicles, police said.
The procedures were filmed and uploaded to the eunuch maker website 45-year-old Gustavson ran, and subscribers would pay to watch, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Wednesday.
Gustavson, originally from Norway, is said to have been the ringleader in a wide-ranging conspiracy, involving up to 29 offences of extreme body modifications, the removal of body parts, the trade in body parts and the uploading of videos.
The Met Police said the charges relate to 13 alleged victims.
Raids were carried out in London, Scotland and South Wales on Wednesday morning and a total of nine men later appeared in courts in central London and Wales over the alleged six-year plot, which is said to have brought in some £200,000 in income.
Gustavson, from Haringey, north London, is charged with conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent between 1 January 2016 and 1 January last year and five counts of causing GBH to five alleged victims.
The GBH charges include the removal of a man’s penis, the clamping of another’s testicles and the freezing of a leg which required amputation.
He is further charged with acquiring or possessing criminal property, making an indecent image of a child and distributing an indecent image of a child.
The court heard Gustavson, who appeared in the dock in a wheelchair, has had his own leg, penis and nipple removed.
He appeared alongside Peter Wates, 65, from Purley, in Surrey, who is charged with conspiracy to cause GBH with intent.
Wates is alleged to have been involved with nine of the 29 incidents while Romanian national Ion Ciucur, 28, who works in a hotel in Gretna Green, Scotland, is said to have been involved in two.
Ciucur, who appeared separately, faces the same count of conspiracy to cause GBH and all three men were remanded in custody ahead of their next appearance at the Old Bailey on 19 April.
Three other men – David Carruthers, 60, Janus Atkin, 37, and Ashley Williams, 31 – who are all from Newport, in Gwent, South Wales, appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court, charged with being involved in the same conspiracy.
They were granted bail and will appear at the Old Bailey on the same date for a plea hearing.
Nathan Arnold, 47, from Kensington and Chelsea, west London, Damien Byrnes, 35, from Haringey, north London, and Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 22, from Epsom, Surrey, also appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday each charged with a single offence of causing GBH with intent.
Arnold is alleged to have removed Gustavson’s nipple, Byrnes is accused of removing his penis and Crimi-Appleby is accused of freezing his leg requiring amputation.
They were each granted bail and will also appear at the Old Bailey with their co-defendants next month.
None of the accused have entered pleas to any of the charges.
The group is said to have been part of a society in which people willingly undergo extreme body modification.
The practice is linked to a subculture where men become “nullos”, short for genital nullification, by having their penis and testicles removed.
The Met said in a statement: “We encourage anyone who has had similar experiences to seek medical advice from their local sexual health clinic or GP.”
Anyone who has had similar experiences is encouraged to seek medical advice from their local sexual health clinic or GP.
You can also contact LGBT+ anti-abuse charity Galop on 0800 999 5428 for advice and support.
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