An OAP with no medical training has been convicted by a court of carrying out penile amputations in his living room.
The 75-year-old man, who is not being named in accordance with German privacy laws, has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison after admitting to carrying out gruesome amputations on willing ‘patients’.
The trained lathe operator happily removed penises, toes and even testicles from patients sitting on a simple plastic mat on his bench.
For years, he allegedly catered to a niche clientele who found him through shady internet forums, charging between €500 and €2,200 per procedure.
The regional court of Erfurt in the eastern state of Thuringia found the man guilty of seven charges of grievous bodily harm and a further charge of bodily harm.
A 75-year-old man has been jailed for almost four years after admitting to amputating the penises, toes and testicles of willing ‘patients’. In the photo: Erfurt, Germany
Although the man’s defense argued for acquittal, judge Udo Tietjen said the sentence serves a greater purpose.
“What we certainly want to achieve with this sentence is to prevent copycats,” he said.
The court hearings, which were largely closed to the public, featured testimony from individuals who voluntarily sought out the suspect for these unauthorized proceedings.
Judge Tietjen described the trial as ‘extraordinary’ and ’embarrassing’, referring to the discomfort and difficulties witnesses experienced in telling what had happened to them.
While many admitted to seeking relief from chronic genital pain or even taking the first steps of a gender reassignment process, few showed any desire to see the accused severely punished.
The man confessed to the operations, but claimed his actions were not financially motivated.
He said he was “inspired” by internet forums devoted to castration and that his goal was to “help” those who approached him.
However, the court was skeptical of his claims and suggested that money may have played a bigger role than he admitted.
The horror continued as the court heard how the suspect would use a syringe to numb the areas before cutting through the flesh, while the victim lay on the living room sofa.
As for the whereabouts of the amputated body parts, this remains a mystery as the man failed to clarify what he did with them.
The prosecutor pushed for a harsher sentence of six years and six months, which reflected the severity and recklessness of his actions, and argued that in at least one case the procedure almost cost a patient his life.
The court ultimately settled on three years and ten months, although the sentence is not yet final.
Although the man’s defense argued for acquittal, judge Udo Tietjen said the verdict reflected the court’s desire to prevent copycats.