Man accused of filming castrations for ‘eunuchmaker’ website must appear in UK court | Abroad

Marius Theodore Gustavson, 45, is one of the men arrested yesterday in London, Scotland and South Wales. Nine people are being charged with allegedly having penises and testicles removed while filming the proceedings for paying subscribers.

Gustavson is originally from Norway but lives in London. He is accused of being the leader of a major conspiracy involving 29 felonies of extreme body modification, removal of body parts, trafficking of body parts and uploading of explicit videos. In addition to five charges of willful assault, Gustavson is also charged with creating and distributing an indecent image of a child.

Britain’s Westminster Magistrates Court was told that Gustavson, who appeared in a wheelchair, had his own penis, leg and nipple removed. Police say the charges relate to 13 victims, with the crimes believed to have taken place between 2016 and 2022. The allegations include removing one man’s penis, clamping another’s testicles and freezing one leg, requiring amputation. The group is said to have earned more than 200,000 euros.

Gustavson appeared in court alongside Peter Wates, 65, who is charged with conspiracy to intentionally inflict grievous bodily harm. Wates would have been involved in nine of the 29 incidents, while 28-year-old Romanian Ion Ciucur would have been involved in two incidents. Ciucur, who had to appear separately, is also charged with conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm. The three men are in pre-trial detention pending their next court appearance on April 19. Three other men, David Carruthers, Janus Atkin and Ashley Williams, are charged with involvement in the same conspiracy. They will appear for a hearing on the same date.

Nathaniel Arnold, 47, Damien Byrnes, 35, and Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 22, also appeared in court yesterday, each charged with intentionally causing bodily harm. 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, necessitating amputation. They will appear in court next month with their co-defendants.

All of the alleged victims were believed to have been part of a subculture in which people voluntarily undergo extreme body modifications known as ‘nullos’, short for genital destruction. Men then remove their penis and testicles.