Ringleader Marius Gustavson removed mens penises, testicles and legs and wanted to share the clips with “like-minded individuals” on his own “eunuch maker” website. He had 22,841 subscribers around the world
A man who ran an extreme body modification website which saw him carrying out castrations before uploading the footage online, has been jailed for 22 years.
Ringleader Marius Gustavson removed mens penises, testicles and legs and wanted to share the clips with “like-minded individuals” on a scale the court heard was “without precedent”. The gruesome operations were uploaded to the 26-year-old Norwegian’s “eunuch maker” website where subscribers would pay to watch.
He made nearly £300,000 over four years from the site’s 22,841 subscribers around the world. The eye-watering practice is linked to a subculture where men become ‘nullos’ – short for genital nullification – by having their penis and testicles removed. During an earlier court hearing prosecutor Caroline Carberry, KC, said: ‘”Gustavson set up a website on which he advertised extreme body modification services such as male castration and penis removal.
“It is an incredible feature of this case the website operated in plain sight, not on the dark web, but accessible to anyone who stumbled upon it and had the inclination and the means to view the gruesome footage. This footage, which is extremely explicit, was uploaded.
“Users could pay to subscribe or buy individual videos. There is evidence the victims were promised a sum of money from the video revenue. Gustavson recruited like-minded individuals to assist him in his large scale, dangerous and disturbing enterprise.
“He was a manipulator of victims, who were themselves vulnerable. It is impossible to know how many procedures took place in the years when the Eunuch Maker website was active. Gustavson was involved in a minimum of 30 procedures.”
Defending Gustavson Rashvinderjeet Panesar told the court he had a desire to be “the architect of his own body” after his 11-year marriage broke down in 2016. The lawyer said: “When it came to an end it sent him into a spiral. His modification led him to feelings of empowerment. It appears at face value to be something that’s become an addiction for him.”
Gustavson had not participated in any body modification before the end of his marriage, Mr Panesar said. He now claims he wants to return to his native Norway, where his views are more likely to be accepted.
“Arch manipulator” Gustavson, of Haringey, north London appeared for sentence alongside six other men who had all admitted their part in the lucrative scheme. The charges relate to 13 victims who are being safeguarded by specialist detectives. The wide-ranging conspiracy also involved the removal and trade of body parts, the court was told.
Gustavson pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit grievous bodily harm, five counts of grievous bodily harm with intent, one count of making an indecent photograph of a child, one count of distributing an indecent photograph of a child and possession of criminal property contrary to Section 329(1) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Ion Ciucur, 30, of Gretna, Scotland, Peter Wates, 66, of Purley, Surrey, Stefan Scharf, 61, of no fixed address, David Carruthers 61, Janus Atkin, 38, Ashley Williams, 32, all of Newport, Gwent, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit grievous bodily harm. They will all be sentenced today.
