Marius Gustavson: Mastermind behind ‘eunuch maker’ extreme body modification ring jailed for at least 22 years
The mastermind behind an extreme body modification ring that carried out “grizzly and gruesome” procedures including castrations has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years.
Warning: The following article contains graphic details of extreme physical mutilation
Marius Gustavson, 46, ran a “lucrative business” sharing images of “dangerous, unnecessary and life-changing surgeries” carried out by people with no medical qualifications, the Old Bailey heard.
The Norwegian national made almost £300,000 through his open website “eunuchmaker.com”, which amassed 22,841 users as it became increasingly professional.
He advertised his services, such as male castration, penis removal and freezing of limbs, while customers paid to view footage of the procedures or could take out a £100-a-year subscription.
“Arch-manipulator” Gustavson had his own penis cut off, the tip of his nipple removed, and his leg frozen so that it had to be amputated, and recruited like-minded individuals to assist him, the court heard.
Gustavson, who claimed £18,500 in disability benefits after losing his leg and now uses a wheelchair, appeared in court for sentencing by video-link from HMP Wandsworth.
The Old Bailey was told body parts, including testicles, were kept in takeaway tubs in his freezer, while Gustavson’s own penis was found in a drawer in his home almost four years after it was amputated.
The judge said the activity would appear to many to be “at least disgusting and abhorrent”.
He said the procedures, some of which were carried out with knives or surgical scalpels, were “grave and life-threatening matters” with “permanent and irreversible” results.
“Many of them may require extensive medical and other assistance for the rest of their lives.”
An image of body parts kept in his freezer was “no doubt what you would regard as the trophies of your acts of carrying out extreme body modifications”, he told Gustavson.
“You are very much the mastermind behind this grizzly and gruesome enterprise,” he said.
“The motivations of all were a mix of sexual gratification as well as financial reward.”
‘Clear evidence of cannibalism’
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC said he sold body parts, while there “was clear evidence of cannibalism” in the case and images found on Gustavson’s phone from 22 June 2018 show “he cooked some testicles for lunch”.
“The images, from raw ingredients to an artfully arranged salad platter, were discovered by officers,” she said.
Gustavson, who was said to have been involved in almost 30 procedures, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm (GBH) between 2016 and 2022.
He also admitted five more counts of causing GBH with intent, making an indecent image of a child, possessing criminal property, possessing extreme pornographic images and three counts of distributing indecent pseudo-photographs of a child.
‘Cult-like atmosphere’
Nine other men have admitted their involvement with Gustavson’s ring after one victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, went to police after feeling he was “tricked” into a procedure while under the influence of drugs.
A knife used in some of the procedures. Pic: Metropolitan Police
He said in a victim impact statement Gustavson created a “cult-like atmosphere” around him, which was “captivating and mesmerising” and “his veneer of respectability was a masterstroke”.
The prosecutor said the “nature and scale” of the procedures “is without precedent”.
One victim was branded with EM – eunuch maker – while a dice game was played to decide what body parts would be removed from another.
‘Human butchery’
Some required emergency medical treatment following procedures described by the judge as “little short of human butchery”.
They were carried out at Gustavson’s home in north London, rented apartments or hotels, and the victims, including a 16-year-old boy, were promised money from the video revenue, the court heard.
Prosecutors said many of the men who underwent procedures consented to them, while all of those charged were motivated by the sexual element of the offences and financial gain.
Wanted to be ‘architect of own body’
Rashvinderjeet Panesar, defending Gustavson, said his “desire to be the architect of his own body” began during puberty before the recognition of body integrity dysphoria but the modifications were triggered by the end of his marriage in 2016.
The procedures gave him “feelings of empowerment and greater acceptance of himself” and he wanted to help others stuck in a body they wanted to make changes to and “wished to put a smile on other people’s faces,” he said.
The barrister compared the practice to transgender operations but with “people who want to be known as ‘nullos’ or of neutral gender” and in circumstances “where legal medical procedures haven’t caught up”.
Mr Panesar said that what may be seen in the courtroom as “depraved, dangerous, and unnecessary is the cost of happiness for others”.
Jacob Crimi-Appleby, Damien Byrnes and Nathan Arnold
Former NHS domestic assistant David Carruthers, 61, Janus Atkin, 39 – who had studied to be a vet – retired chemist Peter Wates, 67 and Romanian national Ion Ciucur, 30, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit GBH between 2016 and 2022.
They were jailed for 11 years, 12 years, 12 years, and five years and eight months respectively
Carruthers’ partner Ashley Williams, 32, and German Stefan Scharf, 61, also pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and were each jailed for four and a half years.
They will all serve two thirds before being released on licence.
Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23, Damien Byrnes, 36, and Nathaniel Arnold, 48, have already been sentenced – to three years and eight months, five years, and two years suspended respectively – all having pleaded guilty to GBH.
Crown Prosecution Service specialist prosecutor Kate Mulholland said: “Marius Gustavson ignored the risks of performing unnecessary surgery on vulnerable men for sexual gratification and financial gain.
“He actively recruited participants through his website and was paid to stream the footage of these barbaric procedures.”
It’s like The Godfather, one reformed drug trafficker tells me.
The mythical gangster film centred on an organised crime dynasty locked in a transfer of power.
Communities in Scotland currently have a front row seat to a new war of violence, torture, and taunts as feuding drug lords and notorious families grapple for control of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
There have been more than a dozen brutal attacks over the past six weeks – ranging from fire bombings to attacks on children and gun violence.
A firebomb attack in Scotland
Victims left for dead, businesses up in flames
Gangsters have filmed themselves setting fire to buildings and homes connected to the associates and relatives of their bitter rivals.
The main aim, they boast, is to “exterminate” the opposition.
The taunting footage, accompanied by the song Keep On Running by The Spencer Davis Group, has been plastered over social media as part of a deliberate game of goading.
A 12-year-old boy and 72-year-old woman were left for dead when teenagers wearing balaclavas burst into a home in north Glasgow.
Garages and businesses have gone up in flames. Shots were fired at an Edinburgh house.
Signals are being sent of who wants control of Scotland’s dark criminal underworld.
A firebomb attack that saw a man throw an incendiary device through a building window
The fire attack set to the song Keep On Running by The Spencer Davis Group
What’s caused the gang war?
The former director of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, Graeme Pearson, explains how a “vacuum of leadership” is playing a part.
Last October, Glasgow-based cocaine kingpin Jamie Stevenson, known as The Iceman, was jailed after orchestrating a £100m cocaine shipment stashed in banana boxes from South America.
The mob leader was one of Britain’s most wanted, running his business like another on-screen criminal enterprise: The Sopranos.
The 59-year-old fugitive went on the run before eventually being hunted and apprehended by police while out jogging in the Netherlands.
Jamie Stevenson. Pic: Police Scotland
Pic: Crown Office
‘Old scores to settle’
But paranoia was running rife about how this notorious gangster could be brought down. Was there a grass? Was it one of their own?
It further fuelled divisions and forced new alliances to be forged across Scotland’s organised criminal networks.
It wasn’t until The Iceman case came to court that it was revealed an encrypted messaging platform, known as EncroChat, had been infiltrated by law enforcement.
It ultimately led to Stevenson pleading guilty.
Ex-senior drug enforcement officer Mr Pearson told Sky News: “It is a complex picture because you have got people who are in prison who still want to have influence outside and look after what was their business.
“On the outside you’ve got wannabes who are coming forward, and they think this is an opportunity for them, and you have got others have old scores to settle that they could not settle when crime bosses were around.”
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Graeme Pearson
Mr Pearson describes a toxic mix swirling to create outbursts of violence unfolding in Scotland.
He concluded: “All that mixes together – and the greed for the money that comes from drugs, and from the kudos that comes from being a ‘main man’, and you end up with competition, violence, and the kind of incidents we have seen over the past four to six weeks.”
New wave of violence ‘barbaric’
Glasgow man Mark Dempster is a former addict, dealer, and drug smuggler who is now an author and respected counsellor helping people quit drinking and drugs.
He describes the “jostle for power” as not a new concept among Glasgow’s high profile gangland families.
Mark Dempster
“There is always going to be someone new who wants to control the markets. It is like The Godfather. There is no difference between Scotland, Albania, or India,” he said.
Mr Dempster suggests a shift in tactics in Glasgow and Edinburgh in recent weeks, with 12-year-olds being viciously attacked in the middle of the night.
“It is barbaric. When young people, children, get pulled into the cross fire. It takes it to a different level.
“At least with the old mafiosa they had an unwritten rule that no children, no other family members. You would deal directly with the main people that were your opposition.”
Police Scotland is racing to get control of the situation, but declined to speak to Sky News about its ongoing operation.
It has been suggested 100 officers are working on this case, with “arrests imminent”.
But this is at the very sharp end of sophisticated criminal empires where the police are not feared, there are fierce vendettas and, clearly, power is up for grabs.
UK
Laws may need to be bolstered to crack down on exploitation of child ‘influencers’, senior MP suggests
Laws may need to be strengthened to crack down on the exploitation of child “influencers”, a senior Labour MP has warned.
Chi Onwurah, chair of the science, technology and innovation committee, said parts of the Online Safety Act – passed in October 2023 – may already be “obsolete or inadequate”.
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Experts have raised concerns that there is a lack of provision in industry laws for children who earn money through brand collaborations on social media when compared to child actors and models.
This has led to some children advertising in their underwear on social media, one expert has claimed.
Those working in more traditional entertainment fields are safeguarded by performance laws, which strictly govern the hours a minor can work, the money they earn and who they are accompanied by.
The Child Influencer Project, which has curated the world’s first industry guidelines for the group, has warned of a “large gap in UK law” which is not sufficiently filled by new online safety legislation.
Official portrait of Chi Onwurah.
Pic: UK Parlimeant
The group’s research found that child influencers could be exposed to as many as 20 different risks of harm, including to dignity, identity, family life, education, and their health and safety.
Ms Onwurah told Sky News there needs to be a “much clearer understanding of the nature of child influencers ‘work’ and the legal and regulatory framework around it”.
She said: “The safety and welfare of children are at the heart of the Online Safety Act and rightly so.
“However, as we know in a number of areas the act may already be obsolete or inadequate due to the lack of foresight and rigour of the last government.”
Victoria Collins, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for science, innovation and technology, agreed that regulations “need to keep pace with the times”, with child influencers on social media “protected in the same way” as child actors or models.
“Liberal Democrats would welcome steps to strengthen the Online Safety Act on this front,” she added.
‘Something has to be done’
MPs warned in 2022 that the government should “urgently address the gap in UK child labour and performance regulation that is leaving child influencers without protection”.
They asked for new laws on working hours and conditions, a mandate for the protection of the child’s earnings, a right to erasure and to bring child labour arrangements under the oversight of local authorities.
However, Dr Francis Rees, the principal investigator for the Child Influencer Project, told Sky News that even after the implementation of the Online Safety Act, “there’s still a lot wanting”.
“Something has to be done to make brands more aware of their own duty of care towards kids in this arena,” she said.
Dr Rees added that achieving performances from children on social media “can involve extremely coercive and disruptive practices”.
“We simply have to do more to protect these children who have very little say or understanding of what is really happening. Most are left without a voice and without a choice.”
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The researcher pointed to one particular instance, in which children were advertising an underwear brand on social media.
She said: “The kids in the company’s own marketing material or their own media campaigns are either pulling up the band of the underwear underneath their clothing, or they’re holding the underwear up while they’re fully clothed.
“But whenever you look at any of the sponsored content produced by families with children – mum, dad, and child are in their underwear.”
Dr Rees said it is “night and day” in terms of how companies are behaving when they have responsibility for the material, versus “the lack of responsibility once they hand it over to parents with kids”.
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