How surgeon who amputated his own legs was caught as he's sentenced to 32 months in prison
Six years after he permanently damaged his own legs in hopes of being a double amputee, former vascular surgeon Neil Hopper has been sentenced to 32 months in jail.
Hopper had become an advocate of the amputee community and was even awarded the Against All Odds title at the Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons 2020.
After being charged with multiple offenses, Hopper now faces 32 months in jail.
Despite his notoriety and supposed good work as a surgeon in helping those who were similarly affected, it turns out that Neil Hopper’s double amputation wasn't due to sepsis, but instead, he'd been in touch with the owner of a body mutilation site known as 'Eunuch Maker'.
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The Eunuch Maker site hosted videos that could be bought for a price, featuring videos like castration and penis removal on males as young as 16.
Hopper had already been charged with two counts of fraud by false representation and one for encouraging or assisting in the commission of grievous bodily harm, but as part of his sentencing, he's also admitted to three charges of possessing extreme pornographic videos that were supposedly acquired from the site.
It was deemed that Hopper had a "sexual interest in amputation," and while the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust is adamant that his actions at home didn't affect his abilities in the workplace, there are still fears about what happened.
Notably, some of the 1,500 messages supposedly exchanged between Hopper and Eunuch Maker owner Marius Gustavson include detailed methods on how to cause his legs to be amputated, Hopper being pleased with the results, and him apparently showing off his erect penis while discussing amputation.
When Gustavson was sentenced to 22 years in jail in May 2024, the BBC reported on how he was described as a 'lunatic', as well as 'an arch-manipulator' and 'a butcher'.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC went through the graphic nature of Gustavson's crimes as the head of the Eunuch Maker enterprise, telling the court: "On one occasion Gustavson cooked what appeared to be human testicles which were then plated to be eaten, and kept other body parts as 'trophies'."
The motivations were said to be "a mix of sexual gratification as well as financial reward," with him adding that it was "little short of human butchery."
As part of the Eunuch Maker sting, police learned that Gustavson had made around £300,000 ($406,000) from the site and amassed 22,841 visitors from around the globe. For a yearly subscription of £100 ($135), users were granted 'VIP status' where they could earn money from video revenue.
In 2020, one of Gustavson's victims came forward and provided Devon & Cornwall Police a USB stick that included 5,000 WhatsApp messages, 100s of images, and videos showing what had gone on.
The unnamed victim's statement was read to the court, stating that he'd been 'mesmerised' by Gustavson, but how he later realized he needed a psychiatrist, "not a back-street surgeon."
One procedure had Gustavson brand him with the initials 'EM' (Eunuch Maker) via a red-hot iron.
The thousands of messages showed Gustavson to be a 'manipulator' who reportedly preyed on those who may have consented but were vulnerable.
Part of Hopper's case involved allegations that he "encouraged Marius Gustavson to remove body parts of third parties."
The Eunuch Maker site has since been closed down, with Gustavson, his accomplices, and Hopper now all behind bars.