Escort who cut off eunuch maker's penis said it was 'one off the bucket list', court hears
12 January 2024, 20:19 | Updated: 12 January 2024, 20:20
An escort who cut off the penis of the ringleader of an extreme body modifications group said it was "one off the bucket list", a court has heard.
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Damien Byrnes, 36, from Tottenham, north London, admitted removing Marius Gustavson's penis with a knife on February 18 2017.
He and two other men appeared for sentencing at the Old Bailey on Friday, having pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Gustavson.
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC said the defendants were among 10 charged with taking part in extreme body modifications.
Gustavson, 46, was involved in "numerous" extreme procedures including the removal of male genitals with films featuring on a pay-per-view "eunach maker" website.
After cutting off Gustavson's penis, Byrnes had asked for a copy of the film and was heard to say: "Well that's one off the bucket list. I never expected that one."
Ms Carberry said messages between the men that were found on Gustavson's mobile phone spanned four years.
Byrnes, who was listed under Daniel Escort Irish, had originally been hired by Gustavson for sexual services and introduced to the "eunach maker" website, the court was told.
In December 2016, he "readily agreed" to mutilate Gustavson for £500, knowing it would be filmed for the money-making site, Ms Carberry said.
He told Gustavson: "I have no issue with it but won't you loose (sic) a lot of blood, like nearly die".
Gustavson went on to tell him he would be anesthetised and tied down and instructed him on what to do.
The court heard that Byrnes was initially offered £500 and his motivation was "financial rather than sexual".
Graphic film of the mutilation of Gustavson was not shown in court but what it showed was described by Ms Carberry.
Afterwards, Gustavson called 999 and told the operator: "I tried to do some surgery on my cock", the court was told.
He was treated in hospital and discharged after a couple of days and referred to a psychiatric unit for assessment.
Ms Carberry told the court that it had been a "life-threatening procedure".
When Byrnes did not receive payment, he threatened to go to the police. But Gustavson responded by saying he would report him for "threats, blackmail and cutting off my c**k".
Over two years, financial records showed Gustavson had paid Byrnes sums totalling more than £1,500, the court was told.
Gustavson also claimed £18,500 in disability benefits between July 2019 and October 2021 after willingly having his leg amputated, the court heard.
Co-defendant Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23, from Epsom in Surrey, admitted freezing Gustavson's leg leading to the need for the amputation in February 2019.
Nurse Nathan Arnold, 48, from South Kensington, west London, admitted the partial removal of Gustavson's nipple in the summer of 2019.
He also admitted to stealing anaesthetic between 2016 and 2022 from the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital where he had worked and also possessing extreme pornography.
Gustavson, from Haringey, north London, previously admitted charges including a conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm and will be sentenced with others on March 4 and 5.
Ms Carberry said his "eunach maker" website had been a "lucrative" activity.
Even though 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", the prosecutor said.
Mitigating for Byrnes, Lisa Bald argued the case was so unusual that guidelines did not help in deciding the appropriate sentence.
She said: "Clearly the most unusual feature of this case is the concept of consent."
Byrnes had suffered trauma during his Catholic upbringing in Ireland that set him on a path to drug addiction and desperation, she said.
Ms Bald added that he was "appalled and ashamed" by what he did in 2017.
Mitigating for Arnold, Neil Griffin, described him as a compassionate, gentle, mild mannered and respectful nurse.
He committed the offences while in the grip of "hypermania" while suffering from a bipolar disorder.
Mr Griffin said: "He is most unlikely ever again to engage in fantasies and the behaviour that he was prone to four years ago."
Judge Mark Lucraft KC adjourned the sentencing until Monday, telling the defendants that his "mind was not made up" on whether to hand them jail terms.
He said: "This case is unique. It is quite unlike any other case I have dealt with."
