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Droit/FRANCE

France's Dentist of Horror jailed for 8 years

France's "dentist of horror" has been jailed for eight years. A French court found Dutchman Jacobus van Nierop guilty of mutilation, premeditated violence and fraud for ripping out healthy teeth and defrauding patients and health insurance companies after prosecutors claimed he "took pleasure in causing pain".

Van Nierop in the dock (artist's impression)
Van Nierop in the dock (artist's impression) AFP/Benoit Peyrucq
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As well as the jail sentence, the court in the central French town of Nevers imposed a 10,500-euro fine and banned Van Nierop from practising as a dentist ever again.

He was found to have carried out unnecessary extractions, broken patients' jaws and caused recurrent abscesses and septicemia in patients in the small town of Château-Chinon.

Van Nierop, who called himself Mark, was hired by a head-hunter and was initially welcomed by locals into an area which was lacking in medical services.

But by 2011 the authorities started to ask questions about his accounts and 120 former patients formed a victims' group in 2013.

Prosecutors retained the charge of mutilation against 53 of the victims for the trial, while another 20 cases were filed under "premeditated violence".

The court let Van Nierop off on charges against six patients and some fraud accusations.

In court he claimed to suffering "psychological problems" including gender identity issues and suicidal tendencies.

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