‘Eunuch maker’ sentenced to life for ‘gruesome and grisly enterprise’

The leader of a “grisly and gruesome” extreme body modification network who streamed mutilations on his “eunuch maker” website was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years yesterday.

Marius Gustavson, 46, was the “arch-manipulator” of vulnerable victims and was said to have been involved in at least 29 procedures, which were “little short of human butchery”, the Old Bailey heard.

The “large-scale, dangerous and extremely disturbing” four-year enterprise included castrations, the use of clamps to crush testicles, penis removals, the freezing of limbs and the electrocution of a 16-year-old boy, which were streamed online.

The “busy and lucrative” business is estimated to have taken more than £300,000 from its 22,841 paying subscribers around the world between 2017 and 2021.

Gustavson, who had previously admitted charges including conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm, appeared for sentence via video link alongside six other men who had all admitted their part in the scheme. The charges relate to 13 victims.

Judge Mark Lucraft, the recorder of London and most senior judge at the Old Bailey, said: “Gustavson, you are very much the mastermind behind this grisly and gruesome enterprise. The business you set up was one that was both busy and lucrative. As with all the others involved, you have no medical qualifications.”

He added: “The footage uploaded was extremely explicit and made available to paying subscribers no doubt so they could watch it for their sexual gratification.”

The prosecutor, Caroline Carberry KC, told the three-day sentencing hearing that there was “clear evidence” of cannibalism and that Gustavson had cooked testicles for lunch in an “artfully arranged salad platter”.

He also kept numerous body parts as “trophies” in a fridge at his home in Harringay, north London, and sold severed genitalia online.

The court heard the procedures had been carried out in “amateur and dangerous” ways with kitchen knives, surgical scalpels and implements designed to be used on livestock, leaving victims writhing in pain and needing medical attention.

“They are permanent and irreversible procedures and will have a long-term, lifetime effect on the ability of the victim to carry out their day-to-day activities,” the judge said.

Gustavson’s film production took on a more professional feel as the number of procedures increased. The videos were uploaded to his website, and subscribers paid to watch, with varying levels of membership from “free” to “VIP”, which cost £100, the court heard.

The other six defendants admitted conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

The judge said: “I am entirely satisfied that the motivation of all those involved were a mix of sexual gratification as well as financial reward.”

Gustavson pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit grievous bodily harm, five counts of grievous bodily harm with intent, making and distributing an indecent photograph of a child, and possession of criminal property.

Peter Wates, 67, of Purley, Surrey, a retired former member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Forensic officers found a scrotum and two penile shafts inside a tub of butter marked with the instruction “do not defrost” at his home address. Janus Atkin, 38, of Newport, Gwent, who had been completing a veterinary course, was jailed for 12 years.

Ion Ciucur, 30, of Gretna, Scotland, received five years and eight months imprisonment, and Stefan Scharf, 61, of no fixed address, was sentenced to four and a half years in jail.

David Carruthers, 61, and Ashley Williams, 32, of Newport, Gwent, were jailed for 11 years and four years, six months respectively.

Kate Mulholland from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Marius Gustavson ignored the risks of performing unnecessary surgery on vulnerable men for sexual gratification and financial gain. He actively recruited participants through his website and was paid to stream the footage of these barbaric procedures.

“Whilst the victims in this case all seemingly consented to surgeries and amputations, the victim who bravely reported his assault to the police expressed serious regret regarding his procedure and the lasting impact it has had upon him. This clearly emphasises why such practices are unlawful.”

‘The motivation [was] a mix of sexual gratification as well as financial reward’ Judge Mark Lucraft Recorder of London