A surgeon from the UK was placed in jail for two years and eight months for a “sexual obsession” with amputation due to him chopping off his legs for a $600,000 scam, according to the New York Post.
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Surgeon Had Legs Amputated Due To “Sexual Obsession” With Limb Mutilation
49-year-old Doctor Neil Hopper pled guilty to two counts of insurance fraud and three counts of possessing extreme porn at Truro Crown Court, reported the BBC. The doctor had performed plenty of amputations before amputating his own legs in 2019.
The doctor had submerged his legs in a substance combined with ice and dry ice for eight hours. He then falsely claimed to insurers that he had sepsis and had his legs removed, stated prosecutor Nicholas Lee.
Hopper’s scam resulted in him pocketing over £466,000 ($625,000 USD) from his insurers. Prosecutor Lee revealed that the doctor was motivated by a sexual desire in removing body parts.
“His motivations were a combination of obsession with removing parts of his own body and a sexual interest in doing so,” said Lee. Hopper also allegedly “enjoyed” the attention he got from the media after his operation.
Arrests Made Amid Amputation Scandal
The arrest occurred in March 2023 after an investigation found Hopper had bought videos from EunuchMaker. This is a pornography website that sells videos of extreme body mutilation.
Just last year, Marius Gustavson, the man who ran the website, was sentenced to 22 years in prison. He was convicted of leading this extreme body mutilation and modification ring.
With the money he pocketed, Hopper purchased luxuries such as an RV and a hot tub. He also bought gifts for his wife and home improvements. The doctor also went back to work six months after his amputations using prosthetic legs.
Although Hopper didn’t regret having the operation, he said he “bitterly regrets” how dishonest he was over the reason for it. He was also “totally overwhelmed by support from friends and family which made it even more difficult to tell them what had really happened,” he told the judge.
Unsurprisingly, his offences were a “shock” to his friends and family, said Andrew Langdon, KC, in mitigation. “The whole saga is very difficult to comprehend.”