The leader of an extreme body modification ring made almost £300,000 through his “eunuch maker” website which has racked up a “staggering” 22,841 users, a court heard.
Warning: The following article contains graphic details of extreme physical mutilation
Marius Gustavson, 46, was the “brains” behind the “profitable business” which shared images of “dangerous, unnecessary and life-changing surgeries” carried out by people without medical qualifications, the Old Bailey heard.
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC said the “nature and scale” of the procedures, including penis removal, castration and freezing of limbs that needed to be amputated, was “unprecedented”.
She said Norwegian Gustavson created a pay-per-view website using the “arrogant” name “eunuch maker” to advertise his services, which had become increasingly professional.
Between 2017 and 2021, he received almost £300,000 in payments from the site, which has accumulated an “impressive” 22,841 registered users from around the world.
Carberry said it was “a notable feature” of the case that the site operated on the open web, accessible to “anyone who found it and had the inclination and means to pay to view the horrific images.”
The court heard customers paid to view images of a single procedure or could take out multiple levels of subscription, one of which cost £100 a year.
In a video shown in court, Gustavson – who had his own penis cut off, the tip of his nipple removed and his frozen leg that had to be amputated – is seen “tasting” a severed penis.
Carberry said body parts, including testicles, were kept in his freezer, while Gustavson’s penis was found in a drawer in his home nearly four years after it was amputated.
The procedures were carried out at his north London home, rented flats or hotels, and victims, including a 16-year-old boy, were promised money from proceeds from the video, the court heard.
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‘Arc manipulator’
“Arch manipulator” Gustavson recruited like-minded individuals to help him, Carberry said.
“They all consented to the procedures, but they were all vulnerable to exploitation by him,” the prosecutor added.
Ten men were charged for their participation in the proceedings over more than four years.
Gustavson, who now uses a wheelchair because of his amputation, appeared via video conference from Wandsworth prison at a sentencing hearing today, while six co-defendants appeared in the dock.
He, along with David Carruthers, 61, Janus Atkin, 37, Peter Wates, 67, and Ion Concur, 30, have previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm between 2016 and 2022.
Gustavson also admitted a further five counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, making an indecent image of a child, possessing criminal property and possessing extreme pornographic images and three counts of distributing indecent pseudo-photographs of a child.
Ashley Williams, 32, and Stefan Scharf, 61, also pleaded guilty to intentionally causing grievous bodily harm and will also be sentenced.
Three other men have already been convicted in connection with the case.
The sentencing hearing continues.
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