An alleged member of an extreme body modification group has admitted freezing the leg of a man who is accused of carrying out castrations and broadcasting the footage on his “eunuch maker” website.
Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 22, from Epsom, Surrey, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to causing grievous bodily harm with intent in February 2019 to Marius Gustavson, who needed to have his leg amputated.
Gustavson, originally from Norway, is alleged to have been part of a wide-ranging conspiracy involving up to 29 instances of extreme body modifications on 13 victims, the removal and trade of body parts and the uploading of videos.
The procedures were allegedly filmed and uploaded to Gustavson’s “eunuch maker” website, which subscribers would pay to watch.
During a hearing at the Old Bailey, the 45-year-old, from Haringey, north London, pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to three men on dates in 2018 and 2019.
The charges relate to the alleged clamping and splitting of the genitals of the men, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
Two more men previously admitted removing other body parts belonging to Gustavson. Nathan Arnold, 48, from South Kensington, west London, admitted the partial removal of Gustavson’s nipple, stealing anaesthetic from Chelsea and Westminster hospital where he worked as a nurse, and possessing extreme pornography. Damien Byrnes, 35, from Tottenham, north London, admitted removing Gustavson’s penis.
Gustavson’s alleged “right-hand man”, Peter Wates, 66, from Croydon in south London, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm between 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2022. Wates is alleged to have been involved with nine of the 29 incidents.
Other defendants who appeared by video link and in the dock of the Old Bailey were not asked to enter pleas to charges on the 13-count indictment.
A Romanian national, Ion Ciucur, 29, who worked in a hotel in Gretna Green, Scotland, is said to have been involved in two incidents in the alleged conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm. Other alleged conspirators are David Carruthers, 60, Janus Atkin, 38, and Ashley Williams, 31, who are all from Newport, south Wales.
The defendants are said to have been part of a society in which people willingly undergo extreme body modification. The practice is linked to a subculture in which men become “nullos” – short for genital nullification – by having their penis and testicles removed.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC set a further plea and case management hearing for 30 June. A provisional trial of up to eight weeks has been set at the Old Bailey from 4 March next year.
