A court heard the ringleader of a mutilation cult described himself as the “chief manipulator” of vulnerable victims who made nearly £300,000 from uploading images to paying viewers online.
Marius Gustavson, a Norwegian national living in Haringey, north London, carried out the castration for the “Eunuch Maker” website, which has more than 20,000 members worldwide.
The 46-year-old man is now confined to a wheelchair after voluntarily freezing and amputating his leg. His penis and nipple were also removed. A court previously heard he received £18,000 in benefits after having his leg removed.
He, along with six other defendants, attended the sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey on Thursday via video link from HMP Wandsworth.
KC Prosecutor Caroline Carberry told the court the name of the Eunuch Maker website was “a fancy reference to how Gustavson and those involved viewed themselves”.
He said none of the defendants had medical qualifications and the damage caused was “unprecedented”.
“All of these defendants were active in the scene of extreme body modification or mutilation and consensual removal or mutilation of male genitalia.
“Open [his website] It advertised extreme body modification services such as castration and penis removal.
“People found Gustavson and his fellow unqualified surgeons through this website.”
He added: “A notable feature of this case is that this website operates not on the dark web but in the public eye, accessible to anyone who comes across it and has the inclination and means to pay to view these horrific images.
“The first subscriber was registered on January 14, 2017, and the last subscriber was registered on March 18, 2021, the day before the police seized their devices.
“By that date, Gustvason had reached a staggering 22,841 registered users worldwide.
“Customers paid to view footage of individual procedures or took out long-term subscriptions using the Strike payment platform.”
Screenshots of the website submitted to the court show users were offered a £100 annual VIP subscription, along with free unlimited messaging.
Castration operations were often carried out using agricultural equipment normally reserved for livestock farming.
Most transactions took place in the basement of his apartment or in rented apartments and hotels.
The court heard victims were often promised a sum of money from the website’s revenue.
Ms Carberry told the court: “Mr Gustavson recruited like-minded individuals to assist him in his large-scale, dangerous and disturbing enterprise, including six defendants.
“Marius Gustavson is the real criminal, organizer and ringleader.
“As evidenced by thousands of text messages recovered, he was the chief manipulator of victims, all of whom consented to the procedures but were themselves vulnerable to being exploited by him.”
He faces prison after admitting five counts of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm (GBH), causing grievous bodily harm with intent, possessing criminal property (money) and making and distributing two indecent videos of a child between January 2017 and January 2020 is available.
The other defendants are 67-year-old Peter Wates, 30-year-old Romanian Ion Ciucur and 61-year-old German Stefan Scharf.
Also facing prison sentences are former surgical assistant David Carruthers, 61, his partner Ashley Williams, 32, and Janus Atkin, 39, from Newport, South Wales.
Carruthers was involved in six procedures, including four testicular removals, but Ms Carberry said it was impossible to know how many procedures were carried out in total.
She worked as a domestic assistant at Ceredigion and Mid Wales NHS Trust from 1991 to 2002 but has no medical qualifications.
Atkin studied veterinary medicine at the University of Bristol and Liverpool and took part in eight procedures, including penis removal.
Wates, from Purley, Surrey, is a retired pharmacist and a former fellow of the Royal Society of Chemists. It was revealed that he had been involved in nine procedures and purchased five scalpels and a sewing kit online.
Ciucur, who worked at a hotel in Gretna Green, Scotland, participated in two procedures, including testicular clamping.
The hearing was told Williams helped his partner Carruthers retrieve the testicle from their friend Atkin.
The couple both worked at the passport office in Wales.
The charges relate to 13 victims who were protected by specialist detectives.
The wide-ranging conspiracy also involved trading body parts, the court was told.
Former nurse Nathaniel Arnold, 49, Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23, and male sex worker Damien Byrnes, 36, admitted removing body parts from Gustavson and were jailed last year.
Crimi-Appleby, who had sexual intercourse with Gustavson after meeting him at the age of 17, froze Gustavson’s leg, requiring amputation. While Byrnes removed his penis with a vegetable knife, Arnold removed part of his nipple with a scalpel.
Byrnes was sentenced to five years, Crimi-Appleby to three years and eight months, and Arnold to a two-year suspended sentence.
Wates admits conspiracy to cause GBH. Ciucur admits conspiracy to cause GBH in relation to the two amendments.
Williams admitted to causing GBH on Atkin on November 7, 2017.
Carruthers and Atkin admit conspiracy to cause bodily harm.
Scharf admitted deliberately causing GBH by participating in a single testicular removal procedure at a flat in Camden, north London, in July 2019.
The trial is scheduled to wrap up on Friday.