‘Butcher’ dentist accused of mutilating more than 100 patients 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”. 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.

He filed my teeth down so I had to use my palate to chew.

Patient Danielle Wezemael

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. Another former patient Nicole Martin said: “When I was on his chair he was a real brute." Van Nierop claimed 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”.

butcher dentist