Three Men Charged in 'Dungeon' Castration
Saturday, April 1, 2006 3:53 PM EST
The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Three men have been arrested on charges of performing castrations on apparently willing participants in a sadomasochistic "dungeon" in a rural house, authorities said Friday.
"It's extremely bizarre," District Attorney Michael Bonfoey said in a telephone interview. "It's incredible the amount of ways that people can find to run afoul of the law."
Sheriff's investigators said Richard Sciara, 61, Danny Reeves, 49, and Michael Mendez, 60, admitted performing at least eight surgeries, including castrations and testicle replacements, on six consenting clients over the past year. None of the three is licensed to practice medicine, officials said.
The suspects, all residents of the house in Haywood County, in western North Carolina, where the surgeries were allegedly performed, were arrested Thursday. They were being held on $150,000 bond each and could make their first court appearances Monday, Bonfoey said.
The sheriff's office had investigated reports of sadomasochistic acts at the house in 2004, but concluded there was nothing illegal going on because the participants appeared to be willing adults.
Renewed scrutiny, prompted by a citizen who made "strange statements" to Bonfoey, revealed that illegal surgeries were taking place, the prosecutor said.
Detectives who searched the home Wednesday found medical supplies that included scalpels, sutures, bandages, anesthetic and artificial replacement testicles, sheriff's officials said.
Also seized were videotaping equipment, and video recordings of the surgeries, sheriff's officials said. Photos and videos made at the "dungeon" were apparently featured on a locally produced sadomasochistic Web site, officials said.
"This right here beats anything I have ever seen," Sheriff Tom Alexander told the Asheville Citizen-Times, which reported that victims may have come from as far away as South America.
Each man faces 10 felony counts five each of castration without malice and conspiracy to commit castration without malice as well as eight misdemeanor counts of performing medical acts without a license. Each felony carries a maximum three years and three months in prison, Bonfoey said.
"Assuming that the victims consented to this and we don't know that for sure yet that doesn't make it a defense," Bonfoey said. "We can't have people who are not medical doctors lopping off limbs and other body parts."
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Clerk Faces Jail for Urinating in Soda
Thursday, March 30, 2006 6:31 PM EST
The Associated Press
DELTONA, Fla. (AP) A convenience store clerk pleaded no contest Thursday to felony charges of tampering after he urinated in a bottle of soda that was later drunk by a customer who became violently sick.
Anthony Mesa, 21, was taken into custody after the short hearing before Circuit Judge James R. Clayton. He will be sentenced at a later date, The Orlando Sentinel reported.
Mesa's attorney said he is hopeful his client will receive less than a year in the county jail.
Mesa was working at a Deltona convenience store when the incident occurred last fall.
The victim, a foreman with a Daytona Beach construction company, became suspicious of the drink after he chugged it and vomited three or four times.
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Man Crashes Car After Snake Attacks Him
Thursday, March 30, 2006 6:12 PM EST
The Associated Press
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) A man crashed his car after a pet snake he had wrapped around his neck began attacking him, authorities said.
Witnesses reported that Courtland Page Johnson, 30, of East Naples, was driving erratically and crashed his PT Cruiser into several barricades about 9 p.m. Tuesday. He got out of his car, wrestled with the snake and then drove off, reports said.
When authorities caught up with Johnson at his home, he told them he crashed into another car that had stopped short in front of him. After questioning, Johnson admitted he panicked when his snake bit him.
He had cuts and freshly dried blood on his body, but did not need medical attention, reports said.
Johnson was charged with leaving the scene of a crash.
Saturday, April 1, 2006 3:53 PM EST
The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Three men have been arrested on charges of performing castrations on apparently willing participants in a sadomasochistic "dungeon" in a rural house, authorities said Friday.
"It's extremely bizarre," District Attorney Michael Bonfoey said in a telephone interview. "It's incredible the amount of ways that people can find to run afoul of the law."
Sheriff's investigators said Richard Sciara, 61, Danny Reeves, 49, and Michael Mendez, 60, admitted performing at least eight surgeries, including castrations and testicle replacements, on six consenting clients over the past year. None of the three is licensed to practice medicine, officials said.
The suspects, all residents of the house in Haywood County, in western North Carolina, where the surgeries were allegedly performed, were arrested Thursday. They were being held on $150,000 bond each and could make their first court appearances Monday, Bonfoey said.
The sheriff's office had investigated reports of sadomasochistic acts at the house in 2004, but concluded there was nothing illegal going on because the participants appeared to be willing adults.
Renewed scrutiny, prompted by a citizen who made "strange statements" to Bonfoey, revealed that illegal surgeries were taking place, the prosecutor said.
Detectives who searched the home Wednesday found medical supplies that included scalpels, sutures, bandages, anesthetic and artificial replacement testicles, sheriff's officials said.
Also seized were videotaping equipment, and video recordings of the surgeries, sheriff's officials said. Photos and videos made at the "dungeon" were apparently featured on a locally produced sadomasochistic Web site, officials said.
"This right here beats anything I have ever seen," Sheriff Tom Alexander told the Asheville Citizen-Times, which reported that victims may have come from as far away as South America.
Each man faces 10 felony counts five each of castration without malice and conspiracy to commit castration without malice as well as eight misdemeanor counts of performing medical acts without a license. Each felony carries a maximum three years and three months in prison, Bonfoey said.
"Assuming that the victims consented to this and we don't know that for sure yet that doesn't make it a defense," Bonfoey said. "We can't have people who are not medical doctors lopping off limbs and other body parts."
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Clerk Faces Jail for Urinating in Soda
Thursday, March 30, 2006 6:31 PM EST
The Associated Press
DELTONA, Fla. (AP) A convenience store clerk pleaded no contest Thursday to felony charges of tampering after he urinated in a bottle of soda that was later drunk by a customer who became violently sick.
Anthony Mesa, 21, was taken into custody after the short hearing before Circuit Judge James R. Clayton. He will be sentenced at a later date, The Orlando Sentinel reported.
Mesa's attorney said he is hopeful his client will receive less than a year in the county jail.
Mesa was working at a Deltona convenience store when the incident occurred last fall.
The victim, a foreman with a Daytona Beach construction company, became suspicious of the drink after he chugged it and vomited three or four times.
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Man Crashes Car After Snake Attacks Him
Thursday, March 30, 2006 6:12 PM EST
The Associated Press
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) A man crashed his car after a pet snake he had wrapped around his neck began attacking him, authorities said.
Witnesses reported that Courtland Page Johnson, 30, of East Naples, was driving erratically and crashed his PT Cruiser into several barricades about 9 p.m. Tuesday. He got out of his car, wrestled with the snake and then drove off, reports said.
When authorities caught up with Johnson at his home, he told them he crashed into another car that had stopped short in front of him. After questioning, Johnson admitted he panicked when his snake bit him.
He had cuts and freshly dried blood on his body, but did not need medical attention, reports said.
Johnson was charged with leaving the scene of a crash.
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My british accent needs a bit more practice but I think one day I'll sound posh and I'll go on stage with my play "Lord Cardington's tea party"