This archive report was first published on 22 August 2019.
On August 22, 2019, a shocking incident unfolded in Florida, where a 74-year-old man, Gary Van Ryswyk, was arrested for castrating a companion he met on an internet fetish site specializing in eunuchs.
According to the Highland County Sheriff's Office, Van Ryswyk had outfitted a bedroom as an operating theatre with medical equipment and a video camera to record the procedure. The victim, who was not identified, was taken to hospital and later flown to a regional medical centre where he was in stable condition.
Van Ryswyk told deputies he met the victim through a site for people with castration fetishes, and that it wasn't the first time he had attempted the procedure. He claimed a previous attempt in a motel a few years ago 'turned out pretty much like this one,' with the man ending up in the hospital.
Van Ryswyk also revealed that he had experimented on animals and even removed one of his own testicles in 2012, according to the sheriff's office.
He was charged on Monday with practicing medicine without a license resulting in bodily harm, and bond was set at $250,000.
