SEBRING, Florida (WHDH) — A Florida man is facing criminal charges after police say he performed a botched castration surgery on another man who he met on a website for people who have eunuch fetishes.
Officers responding to a 911 hang-up from a home in Sebring on Sunday were met by 74-year-old Gary Van Ryswyk, who allegedly admitted to performing a castration on a man who was bleeding heavily inside his house with a towel over his groin, according to a post on the Highland County Sheriff Department’s Facebook page.
The man was rushed to a nearby hospital before being flown to a regional medical center, where police say he is in stable condition.
During a search of Van Ryswyk’s house, police found a room that was set up like a surgical center with medical equipment and painkillers. There was also a camera set up to record the procedure.
Van Ryswyk told deputies he had met the victim on a website on the dark web that is geared toward people who have a castration fetish. He told the victim that he had experience on animals and had even removed one of his own testicles in 2012.
Van Ryswyk was arrested on a charge of practicing medicine without a license resulting in bodily injury, a second-degree felony. His bond was set at $250,000.
Anyone who has information about Van Ryswyk is asked to call Det. Roger St. Laurent at 863-402-7250 or email detectives@highlandssheriff.com.
Tips can also be left anonymously on the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office app or through Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS or www.heartlandcrimestoppers.com.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)