An alleged member of an extreme body modifications group has admitted freezing the leg of a man who carried out castrations and streamed them live on his ‘eunuch-maker’ website.
Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 22, from Epsom in Surrey, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Marius Gustavson in February 2019, who later had his leg amputated.
Gustavson, originally from Norway, is alleged to have been the ringleader of a wide-ranging conspiracy involving up to 29 offences of extreme body modifications on 13 victims, the removal and trade of body parts and the uploading of videos.
Two more men previously admitted removing other body parts belonging to Gustavson, who filmed the procedures and uploaded them to his ‘eunuch-maker’ site, which subscribers would pay to watch.
During a hearing at the Old Bailey, Gustavson, 45, 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.
Gustavson, who appeared in court by videolink from custody, admitted separate charges of making and distributing indecent videos of a child.
He was not asked to enter pleas on other charges including conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.
Nurse Nathan Arnold, 48, from South Kensington, west London, previously admitted partially removing Gustavson's nipple, stealing anaesthetic from the hospital where he worked and possessing extreme pornography.
Damien Byrnes, 35, from Tottenham, admitted removing Gustavson's penis.
Gustavson's alleged ‘right-hand man’, Peter Wates, 66, from Croydon in south London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm between January 1 2016 and January 1 2022.
Wates was alleged to have been involved with nine of the 29 incidents.
Other defendants who appeared by videolink and in the dock of the Old Bailey were not asked to enter pleas to charges on the 13-count indictment.
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 in Gwent, South Wales.
The case relates to the practice of extreme body modifications, including the removal of penises and testicles.
The defendants were arrested after police raids in London, Scotland and South Wales.
They are said to have been part of a society in which people willingly undergo extreme body modification.
The practice is linked to a subculture where 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 June 30.
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