Body Modification Artist Jailed For Splitting Customer's Tongue, Removing Nipple, Ear

A tattoo and body modification artist in England, who goes by the name Dr. Evil, was jailed for 40 months after he removed an ear and a nipple and carried out a tongue splitting procedure on three of his clients.

Dr. Evil, whose real name is Brendan McCarthy, said his clients gave him written consent to carry out the procedure. He also claimed that all three procedures were done at the request of clients. The prosecutors told Wolverhampton’s Crown Court that McCarthy carried out the procedures without using an anesthetic and despite having no medical qualifications.

He appeared in the court Thursday and pleaded guilty to all three counts of causing grievous bodily harm. He said he carried out the ear removal at his studio, Dr. Evil's Body Modification Emporium, in Wolverhampton in 2015 without an anesthetic, three years after he split a woman’s tongue with a scalpel and removed another person’s nipple, on request of the customers.

He was first arrested in December 2015 and appeared in court in 2017 when he denied all charges. A judge ruled that even though McCarthy was a registered tattoo artist, he couldn’t use written permission as a defense. He then took his case to the Court of Appeal and claimed that the procedures were legal since it was the customer’s choice. However, three judges threw out his argument and ruled that his actions could not be compared to regular tattoos or piercings.

Judge Amjad Nawaz on Thursday sentenced McCarthy to 40 months in jail. In the ruling he said, “There is a clear public interest element in this sentencing exercise. Those performing body modification without any qualifications will go into custody. The injury in each case is permanent and irreversible. The injuries are serious in the context of the offense. The charge is one of causing grievous bodily harm. That is really serious injury. He exposed each of the victims to serious risk. Each one of the offenses is so serious only custody is appropriate.”

He also said McCarthy didn’t have the qualifications to carry out the surgical procedures, nor would he be able to deal with any adverse consequences.

Wolverhampton City Council said public protection officers served a notice to McCarthy after he pleaded guilty, which prevented him from carrying out any “extreme” services.

Prosecutors also produced the man who had his ear removed before the court. He said he felt like he had been deceived because he believed the procedure was legal. The prosecutor said, “He stated that had he known it was illegal, he would never have had the procedure because he certainly was not that desperate to have his ear removed.”

The judge said McCarthy conducted all three of the procedures without knowing the clients’ medical or psychiatric histories and backgrounds. And the police also found old pre-injection swabs, anesthetic gel and stitching thread and needles at McCarthy’s studio.

Meanwhile, an online petition was set up to support McCarthy by some of his friends who called him a “knowledgeable, skillful and hygienic body piercer.” The petition gathered more than 13,000 signatures so far.

McCarthy was denied permission to appeal to the Supreme Court and was forced to shut his studio down.