In the German city of Erfurt, a 75-year-old man was sentenced to three years and ten months in prison on Tuesday for carrying out castrations without medical training. The treatments took place on the couch in his living room.
In total, the suspect, who was a machine operator by profession, was convicted of eight charges of (serious) bodily harm. The victims in the case had paid the man money to catastrophe them. All charges date from 2015. In court, several victims testified about their ‘treatment’, after which the suspect also acknowledged the gruesome practices. For example, he is said to have removed the penis and toes of one of his patients.
When explaining the verdict, the judge noted that those involved had approached the man themselves and requested the respective procedures. For example, they were interested in the first step of sex reassignment surgery or in combating pain in the genital area.
Most victims testified that they were not interested in punishing the suspect. The man, for his part, claimed that he had wanted to help the patients and that money would have played only a small role in the amputations. However, the court expressed doubts about this.
“It was an extraordinary trial, tainted with shame,” judge Udo Tietjen said on Tuesday. “What we want to achieve with this verdict is to prevent others from following this example.”