'Butcher' Dentist Jacobus Van Nierop On Trial

A dentist nicknamed "the butcher" by French media has appeared in court accused of mutilating more than 100 patients.

Jacobus Marinus (Mark) van Nierop arrived in a police car, his head covered by a blanket, in Nevers, near the town of Chateau-Chinon, where he began practising in 2008.

The 51-year-old faces charges of defrauding French social security and "wilful violence causing mutilation and permanent injury".

Many former patients attended the opening of the trial, where they described their experiences at the hands of van Nierop.

One said he had "ruined" her life after she had gone to have her teeth cleaned.

Danielle Wezemael said: "He filed my teeth down so I had to use my palate to chew."

Another former patient Nicole Martin said: "When I was on his chair he was a real brute.

"I have since seen other dentists who were gentle, who had the technical means which means that today when you go to the dentist's you don't suffer any longer - but it is certain that he had no compassion ... he would carry on pulling out teeth."

Geraldine Letot said she had had to undergo extensive dental work after seeing van Nierop, including having teeth removed.

"I have pain, pain that I had never experienced before and which I should never have had," she said outside the court.

Van Nierop, who is originally from the Netherlands, disappeared after being questioned by French police in 2013.

He was arrested the following year in New Brunswick, Canada.

Van Nierop claimed at the time he was suffering from psychological problems and confusion about his sexual identity.

In January this year, his lawyer Delphine Morin-Meneghel was quoted as saying he "recognised that he did not do good work" but "was not the horrible person some people had described".

His flight to Canada was part of a plan to take his own life, she said, adding that he was in poor health.

'Butcher' Dentist Jacobus Van Nierop On Trial

Another one. WHY?

^ is it as painful as having a tooth extracted

'Butcher Dentist Broke Jaws And Ripped Out Teeth'

A dentist nicknamed "the butcher" should receive an eight-year jail sentence after allegedly carrying out "useless" procedures on about 100 patients, a French prosecutor says.

Jacobus van Nierop, 51, is accused of ripping out healthy teeth and leaving patients with injuries including broken jaws, recurrent abscesses and septicaemia.

The Dutchman's motive, say prosecutors, was to have his work reimbursed by his patients' medical insurance schemes.

Prosecutor Lucile Jaillon-Bru said: "We see nothing but greed, indifference to others, even pleasure at causing pain."

She said his procedures were "useless and painful" and described him as "a man who doesn't take responsibility for anything".

Van Nierop was initially welcomed by locals to the small central France town of Chateau-Chinon, which was lacking in medical services.

A neighbour, giving evidence in court, said that when he arrived he seemed a larger-than-life character, with a "big 4x4, a big dog, a big cigar".

But by 2011, patients were starting to compare notes on his dentistry prompting the authorities to question some of his accounting practices.

One patient, Sylviane Boulesteix, 65, said she went to Van Nierop in March 2012 to have braces fitted.

"He gave me seven or eight injections, and pulled out eight teeth in one go. I was gushing blood for three days," she said.

In early 2013, around 120 former patients joined a victims' group.

Experts at the trial gave conflicting evidence about Van Nierop's psychological state.

One psychiatrist said he had "narcissistic tendencies" and was as a result incapable of making moral judgements about his own actions.

But another said he believed Van Nierop was "perfectly aware of what he was doing".

The dentist has sought to deflect responsibility during the trial, saying he suffers from "psychological problems" including gender identity issues and suicidal tendencies.

He was not required to enter a plea under the French judicial system.

Van Nierop was arrested in June 2013, but disappeared while awaiting trial. He was later tracked down to New Brunswick, Canada, arrested and extradited first to the Netherlands and then to France.

'Butcher Dentist Broke Jaws And Ripped Out Teeth'

'Butcher Dentist' Jailed By French Court

A Dutch dentist has been jailed in France for eight years for causing horrific injuries to his patients.

Jacobus van Nierop, 51, was also banned from practising as a dentist and fined €10,500 (£8,146.63) for ripping out healthy teeth and leaving patients with injuries including broken jaws, recurrent abscesses and septicaemia.

Prosecutor Lucile Jaillon-Bru told the court in the central town of Nevers that Van Nierop - who called himself Mark - "took pleasure at causing pain" to his patients.

The court heard how the dentist had carried out "useless and painful procedures" on about 100 patients with the sole aim of getting money from medical insurance schemes.

The dentist practised in the small central town of Chateau-Chinon after being recruited by a head-hunter to an area that lacked medical services.

The court was told that locals initially welcomed the cheerful, larger-than-life character with his "big 4x4, a big dog, a big cigar" but, by 2011, patients were beginning to tell terrible stories about his practice while the authorities were looking into his accounting methods.

Sylviane Boulesteix, 65, went to have braces fitted in 2012.

She said: "He gave me seven or eight injections, and pulled out eight teeth in one go. I was gushing blood for three days."

Some 120 former patients set up a victims' group in early 2013 and the dentist was arrested shortly after.

He fled France while awaiting trial and was later found in a small town in Canada.

He was extradited first to the Netherlands and then to France.

Van Nierop who, under French law, did not have to enter a plea, tried to explain away his behaviour by saying he suffered from "psychological problems" including gender identity issues and suicidal tendencies.

One psychiatrist said he had "narcissistic tendencies" and was therefore not capable of making a moral judgment over his actions.

Another disagreed, saying the dentist was "perfectly aware of what he was doing".

'Butcher Dentist' Jailed By French Court

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOtMizMQ6oM