The leader of a “horrifying and gruesome” extreme body modification network who live-streamed the mutilations on his “Eunuch Maker” website has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 years.
Marius Gustavson, 46, was a “master manipulator” of vulnerable victims and was said to have been involved in at least 29 surgeries that “almost amounted to human slaughter,” London’s Old Bailey heard “.
The four-year “massive, dangerous and extremely disturbing” operation included castration, the use of clamps to crush testicles, the removal of penises, the freezing of limbs and the electrocution of a 16-year-old boy in Gustafsson live on TV.
The “busy and lucrative business” is estimated to have taken more than £300,000 from its 22,841 paying subscribers worldwide between 2017 and 2021.
Gustafson, who previously pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm, appeared via video link with six other men who all admitted their involvement in the scheme. The charges relate to 13 victims, who are being protected by specialist detectives.
Mark Lucraft, a special judge in London and the most senior judge at the Old Bailey Court, said when announcing the verdict: “Gustafson, you are the mastermind behind this terrible incident. This is a busy and profitable trial. Profitable business.
He added: “The video uploaded was extremely explicit and was undoubtedly made available to paying subscribers so that they could view it for sexual gratification. This was a massive, dangerous and extremely disturbing undertaking.
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC said there was “clear evidence” of cannibalism and that Norwegian Gustafsson cooked in a “cleverly arranged salad plate” Had testicles for lunch. He also kept the removed genitals as “trophies” in the refrigerator of his home in Haringey, north London, and “sold” the body parts to others.
The three-day sentencing hearing was told the operations were carried out with a kitchen knife or scalpel, leaving the victim writhing in pain and requiring medical attention. As the number of shows grew, Gustafson’s filmmaking techniques began to take on an increasingly professional feel.
The court heard the entire incident was filmed and uploaded to a website where subscribers paid to watch, with membership levels ranging from “free” to “VIP” for £100.
The practice is associated with a subculture in which men become “nullos” (short for nullified genitals) by removing their penises and testicles.
Carberry said the scale of the operation he and other “like-minded individuals” carried out was “unprecedented” and said it was “impossible to know” the full scale of the crimes.
In a video of the incident played in court, one of the group’s victims was shown having the letters “EM,” for Eunuch Maker, branded on the back of his calf. The man later complained to police about Gustafsson and his “circle of followers,” who launched an investigation.
In a victim impact statement, the brand man described Gustafson as a “crazy man” who had built a “clever, professional website”.
Six other defendants admitted conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.
The judge said: “I am entirely satisfied that the motivation for all involved was a combination of sexual gratification and financial reward.”
Gustafson admitted conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm, five counts of grievous bodily harm with intent, making and distributing indecent images of children and possessing criminal property.
Peter Wates, 67, of Pooley, Surrey, a retired former member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Janus Atkin, 38, from Newport, Gwent, who was completing a veterinary course, was jailed for 12 years.
Ion Ciucur, 30, of Gretna, Scotland, was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison; Stefan Scharf, 61, of no fixed address, was sentenced to four and a half years.
David Carruthers, 61, and Ashley Williams, 32, from Newport, Gwent, were jailed for 11 years and four years and six months respectively.
In January, three men were sentenced after admitting causing grievous bodily harm to Gustafson. Damien Byrnes, 36, from north London, was jailed for five years for cutting off Gustafson’s penis with a kitchen knife at his home on February 18, 2017.
Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23, from Epsom, Surrey, had Gustafson’s leg need to be amputated in February 2019 after freezing it And was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison.
Nathan Arnold, 48, from South Kensington, west London, was given a two-year suspended sentence for partially removing Gustafson’s nipple with a scalpel in the summer of 2019.
