by Six members jailed for a lucrative “human butchery” enterprise can challenge the length of their sentences, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Mastermind Marius Gustavson and his acolytes carried out male castration, circumcision and other “gruesome and gruesome” procedures on an unprecedented scale on people as young as 16, the Old Bailey heard when they were sentenced earlier this year.
The court was told Gustavson’s Eunuch Maker pay-per-view website featured footage of people undergoing “dangerous, unnecessary and life-changing surgeries” carried out in people’s homes, which brought him more than £300,000 between 2017 and 2021.
Gustavson, 46, of Haringey, north London, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years in May, after admitting charges including conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.
Judge Lucraft sentenced the other five men – Janus Atkin, David Carruthers, Ashley Williams, Damien Byrnes and Jacob Crimi-Appleby – to between three and eight months and 12 years in prison for their part in the extreme body modification measures.
Lawyers for the six defendants asked the Court of Appeal to give the green light to challenge the length of the prison terms on Tuesday.
In the short hearing at the central court in London, three senior judges said the sentences could be appealed.
Mr Justice Murray, sitting with Lord Justice Edis and Judge Shaun Smith KC, said that while it was “thankfully a very unusual situation”, the appeal was “arguable”.
The Old Bailey heard earlier this year that body modification is linked to a subculture where men become “nullos”, short for reproductive nullity, when their penises and testicles are removed.
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC said Gustavson was involved in at least 29 procedures and there was “clear evidence of cannibalism”. Images shown to the court also showed her freezer was filled with body parts stored in plastic bags and takeaway containers.
The court heard that the defendants used a wide range of tools such as clamps used to slaughter animals, and body parts were auctioned online with a “buy it now” button.
Gustavson also offered to sell the severed penis of one of his victims for hundreds of pounds, with around 22,000 subscribers paying to access videos on the Eunuch Maker website with various levels of membership from “free” to “VIP”, which cost £100.
The Norwegian was arrested after he used a red-hot iron to brand a man’s calf with the letters EM – for Eunuch Maker – and after he was detained, police found his penis in a drawer at his home in Haringey, North London, four years. after amputating it.
Gustavson, who attended Tuesday’s hearing via video link, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm, five counts of grievous bodily harm with intent, making and distributing an indecent photograph of a child, and possession of criminal property.
The other defendants also admitted their part in the conspiracy involving 13 victims.
Atkin, 39, Carruthers, 61, and Williams, 33, of Newport, Gwent, were jailed for 12 years, 11 years and four years, six months respectively for conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.
Byrnes, 37, from north London, and Crimi-Appleby, 24, from Epsom, Surrey, were jailed in January after admitting grievous bodily harm to Gustavson.
Byrnes was sentenced to five years in prison for removing Gustavson’s penis with a kitchen knife on video at his home on February 18, 2017.
Crimi-Appleby was jailed for three years and eight months for freezing Gustavson’s leg, which required amputation in February 2019.
Sentencing him earlier this year, Judge Mark Lucraft KC told Gustavson: “The evidence shows that you are very much the mastermind behind this appalling and appalling enterprise. You, Gustavson, have recruited like-minded people to assist in a large-scale, dangerous and disruptive enterprise.
“The procedures were carried out in amateurish and dangerous ways: in some cases it amounted to little more than human butchery. Certain procedures were sexually explicit or had obvious sexual overtones. Many procedures clearly caused great distress and several others required immediate emergency medical treatment.”
He added: “I’m absolutely delighted that the motivation for everyone involved was a combination of sexual satisfaction as well as financial reward.”
On Tuesday, Judge Murray said the three judges were “satisfied that it is at least arguable” that it was “wrong in principle” for Judge Lucraft to use sentencing guidelines for grievous bodily harm with intent, “they are that, by definition, is it. non-consensual offences”.
He continued that it could be argued that “the judge did not give enough weight to the fact that almost all of the victims… seemed to be happy with the result of their minor body modifications”.
The full appeal will be made at a later date.
