The ringleader of an extreme body modifications group who was known as the “eunuch maker” claimed £18,500 in disability benefits after willingly having his leg amputated, a court heard.
Marius Gustavson, 46, was the mastermind of a “lucrative” and “widespread” extreme body modifications enterprise in which procedures – including the removal of genitals – were filmed and streamed on his pay-per-view website, the Old Bailey was told.
Ten men have been charged over their alleged involvement in the plot, including Nathaniel Arnold, 48, Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23, and Damien Byrnes, 36, who appeared at the Old Bailey in London for sentencing on Friday after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Gustavson.
The court heard that Byrnes, from Tottenham, north London, was filmed cutting off Gustavson’s penis with a kitchen knife and saying: “Well that’s one off the bucket list.”
The court heard that Gustavson advertised for someone to assist him in becoming a eunuch on a gay dating app before offering Byrnes, an escort, £500 for carrying out the procedure.
The prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC said Byrnes “readily agreed” and was aware the procedure would be filmed and that “revenue would be generated from pay-per-view subscriptions” on Gustavson’s website. In messages read to court, Byrnes told Gustavson: “I have no issue with it but won’t you loose [sic] a lot of blood, like nearly die.”
Two days before the procedure, Gustavson told Byrnes that he was cutting another person and that he could be a “sexy, kinky helper”. Gustavson had previously boasted that he had “done over 26 guys in total, 18 totally done”, which was a reference to the removal of both penis and testicles, the prosecutor said.
Gustavson phoned 999 after the procedure at his flat in Haringey, north London, on 18 February 2017, saying: “I tried to do some surgery [and it is] a little bit more than a circumcision.” Gustavson, who was described in court as the principal defendant and a willing victim, was treated in hospital for a couple of days before being referred to a psychiatric unit for assessment.
Byrnes told police he performed the procedure for money and that he had thrown up on his way home. Financial records showed Gustavson paid Byrnes more than £1,500 over two years, the court was told.
Co-defendant Crimi-Appleby, from Epsom in Surrey, helped freeze Gustavson’s leg causing it to require amputation on 21 February 2019.
The court heard the pair began messaging in September 2018 when Crimi-Appleby was 17 and were later in a sexual relationship. In messages read to court, Gustavson boasted about procedures he had carried out on other people and said he kept testicles he had removed in jars, to which Crimi-Appleby replied: “Awesome!”
The pair began discussing amputation in January 2019 and Crimi-Appleby said he could not wait to see Gustavson “without a leg” and that he would look “amazing”.
The court was shown a five-minute clip of the eight-hour freezing process that was uploaded on to the website, in which the pair were heard laughing out loud as Crimi-Appleby ladled ice into a bucket.
Gustavson was treated at the Royal Free hospital in London after the freezing. He had to have his leg amputated and remained in hospital for two months. The court was told that he made a successful claim for personal independence payment in May 2019, receiving £18,500 in benefits between July 2019 and October 2021.
Arnold, a nurse from South Kensington, west London, admitted the partial removal of Gustavson’s nipple in summer 2019. He also admitted to stealing anaesthetic between 2016 and 2022 from the Chelsea and Westminster hospital where he worked and also possessing extreme pornography.
The court heard that Arnold gave Gustavson medical advice for procedures and shared a manual with him called “Penile Disassembly Manual: anatomical surgical steps”, which he said was “porn to me”.
The prosecutor said that although Gustavson had “consented and encouraged” the defendants to participate, text messages between them demonstrated that they were “willing participants”.
She said the harm caused by the removal of Gustavson’s penis and leg was “so serious and so severe and life-threatening” that hospital treatment was required to “put things right”.
Gustavson has previously admitted charges including a conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm and will be sentenced with others on 4 and 5 March.
The hearing before Judge Mark Lucraft KC continues.
