Dutch ‘horror dentist’ jailed for eight years in France

A Dutchman dubbed the “horror dentist” by French media was sentenced to eight years in jail on Tuesday for mutilating patients’ mouths and defrauding social security services.

The verdict was delivered by a court in Nevers, in central France, where local media relayed gory tales, some from old-aged pensioners who spoke of having as many as eight teeth pulled out in one sitting, infections and bills of tens of thousands of euros.

"This is a massive relief. We must be very careful from now on when we get practitioners from abroad," said Nicole Martin, the head of a group of patients who took legal action against Jacobus Van Nierop, who had fled to Canada but was extradited back to France.

Van Nierop’s lawyer, Delphine Morin-Meneghel, was quoted in January as saying that her client “recognised that he did not do good work”.

He was arrested in 2014 in New Brunswick, Canada and sent home. He said at the time he was suffering from psychological problems and confusion about his sexual identity.

Reuters