‘Dentist of horror’ on trial for mutilating 100 French patients

The 51-year-old ripped out healthy teeth and left dozens of patients in a remote French village with broken jaws, recurrent abscesses and septicaemia.

File photo of Dutch dentist, Jacobus Van Nierop, in his dental office in Chateau-Chinon, France. Dutchman Jacobus Van Nierop dubbed the “Dentist of horror” by French media went on trial on March 8, 2016, facing charges of intentional violence and fraud after scores of victims came forward with complaints ranging from multiple healthy teeth removed, pieces of tools left in teeth, abscesses to recurrent infections between 2009 and 2013. Christophe Masson/AP PhotoShow less

Nevers, France // A Dutch man dubbed the “dentist of horror” by the French media stood trial yesterday after allegedly causing horrific injuries to the mouths of more than 100 patients in France.

Jacobus van Nierop, 51, ripped out healthy teeth and left dozens of patients in a remote French village with broken jaws, recurrent abscesses and septicaemia.

He is charged with aggravated assault, as well as fraud over claims that he tried to rip off patients and insurance companies. Mr van Nierop faces up to 10 years in jail and a €150,000 (Dh604,920) fine if he is found guilty.

Although he is not required to offer a plea under French law, Mr van Nierop has previously sought to deflect responsibility, saying he suffered from psychological problems, including gender identity issues and suicidal tendencies.

He has already been detained for 18 months in the case.

Mr van Nierop was hired by a headhunter and was initially welcomed by locals who were sorely lacking in medical services.

A neighbour recalled the arrival of a smiley, larger-than-life character, with a “big 4x4, a big dog, a big cigar”.

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

Sylviane Boulesteix, 65, visited the dentist 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,” said Ms Boulesteix.

An 80-year-old, Bernard Hugon, said the dentist left “pieces of flesh hanging everywhere” after tearing out a tooth.

“Every time, he would give us what he called ‘a little prick’ and we were asleep, knocked out,” said Nicole Martin, a retired teacher who lost several teeth to abscesses caused by the horrific operations.

“When it was over, we would find a Post-it note saying to come back for an appointment the next day or the day after.”

With the help of one of Mr van Nierop’s assistants, Ms Martin set up a victims’ group in 2013 to press charges, and it soon swelled to 120 members.

In June of that year, police arrested Mr van Nierop but left him free pending trial, and he fled the country in December.

He was eventually tracked down to a small Canadian town in New Brunswick and arrested under an international warrant in September 2014.

Local media reported that he tried to slit his throat when police came for him.

Mr van Nierop tried to block his extradition first to the Netherlands and then France on psychological grounds, but was eventually placed in a prison psychiatric unit in the Loiret department, south of Paris.

“He claimed to have killed his first wife, he played crazy, he said he was transsexual. He tried everything [to avoid extradition],” said Ms Martin.

* Agence France-Presse