Ringleader of ‘eunuch maker’ site had penis cut off by male escort

Body modification group conducted amputations on camera for an online pay-per-view audience

THE ringleader of an extreme body modification group had his penis cut off by a male escort, who then remarked “well that’s one for the bucket list,” a court has heard.

Damien Byrnes, 36, from Tottenham, north London, has pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm for removing Marius Gustavson’s penis with a vegetable knife on Feb 18 2017.

Byrnes appeared at the Old Bailey alongside Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23, from Epsom in Surrey, who admitted freezing Gustavson’s leg, leading to it be ing amputated in February 2019.

Former nurse Nathaniel Arnold, 48, from west London, also admitted the partial removal of Gustavson’s nipple in 2019, stealing anaesthetic from the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital between 2016 and 2022, and possessing extreme pornography.

The court heard Gustavson, 46, had been involved in numerous extreme procedures, including filming the removal of male genitals and posting the footage to a pay-per-view “eunuch maker” website.

The practice is linked to a subculture where men become “nullos”, short for genital nullification, by having their penis and testicles removed.

After cutting off Gustavson’s penis, Byrnes asked for a copy of the film and was heard to say: “Well that’s one off the bucket list. I never expected that one.”

Caroline Carberry KC, prosecuting, said messages between the men spanning four years had been found on Gustavson’s mobile phone and the defendants were among 10 people charged with taking part in extreme body modification.

Byrnes had initially been hired by Gustavson for escort services and in December 2016 he agreed to remove his penis for £500, saying he was in debt.

Texting Gustavson, he said: “I have no issue with it but won’t you loose (sic) a lot of blood … like nearly die.” He also expressed concern that he might get into trouble. But Gustavson explained he would have a local anaesthetic and receive instructions about what to do.

On Feb 18, the procedure took place and was recorded from two angles.

Afterwards, Gustavson called 999 and told the operator: “I tried to do some surgery on my c---,”, the court was told. He was treated in hospital and discharged after a couple of days with a referral to a psychiatric unit for assessment. Ms Carberry told the court it had been a “life-threatening procedure”.

When Byrnes did not receive payment, he threatened to go to the police.

Following his arrest in 2022, Byrnes admitted what he had done, saying he was in financial difficulty and had thrown up on the way home afterwards.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC said: “This case is unique. It is quite unlike any other case I have dealt with.”

Marius Gustavson, who had been involved in the ‘eunuch maker’ website, had his penis removed with a vegetable knife