'Dentist Of Horror' Gets 8 Years For Harming Patients In France

A Dutch dentist has been sentenced to eight years behind bars for harming patients in a rural French town. The so-called dentist of horror injured more than 100 patients and committed insurance fraud in Chateau-Chinon, which reportedly had been without a dental care provider for years.

Jacobus Van Nierop, 51, isn't allowed to practice dentistry anymore, and he has to pay about $11,900, according to the BBC.

Dentist Jacobus Van Nierop, pictured in his office in Chateau-Chinon, France, in 2009, has now been banned from practicing.

Christophe Masson/AP

As the Two-Way has reported, patients accused him of mutilating their mouths — pulling out healthy teeth and performing operations that caused abscesses.

The prosecutor said "useless and painful procedures" were done as part of a scheme for insurance reimbursements, AFP reports.

Prosecutor Lucile Jaillon-Bru also said Van Nierop "took pleasure at causing pain," according to The Guardian. The newspaper also notes that psychiatric evaluations of the dentist varied:

"One found he had 'narcissistic tendencies' and was not responsible for his actions, but another declared Van Nierop 'perfectly aware of what he was doing'."

Van Nierop was arrested in 2013 but was released and fled to Canada. He was found in 2014, extradited and eventually sent back to France for trial.