A retired Church of England vicar, Reverend Geoffrey Baulcomb, has been jailed after being linked to a disturbing castration ring in the UK.

The 79-year-old clergyman pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to causing grievous bodily harm with intent after police found a video on his phone showing him using nail scissors on a man’s private parts in January 2020.

Baulcomb also admitted to seven other offences, including making and distributing indecent images of children, and possessing extreme pornography. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

Investigators discovered 31 indecent images of a boy during childhood, alongside other sexual material involving both male and female children. Police also found 182 extreme pornographic images showing severe genital injuries, five images of life-threatening acts, and eight images of bestiality.

Some of the footage was linked to the notorious “Eunuch Maker” website, run by Norwegian national Marius Gustavson, 47. Gustavson, who castrated himself and mutilated his own body, was jailed for life last year after making nearly £300,000 from the site. He and Baulcomb were said to have exchanged more than 10,000 messages over four years.

Delivering judgment, Judge Mark Lucraft KC condemned Baulcomb’s actions, stressing that the operation was carried out in unsafe conditions without medical skills. He described the act as “a serious and permanent injury” that was further aggravated by being filmed.

The court noted that while many people once spoke highly of Baulcomb’s service as a priest, his crimes shocked those who knew him. His sentence was reduced due to the victim’s consent, his age, health, character, and guilty plea.

Baulcomb had been ordained in 1970 and served at St Mary the Virgin church in Eastbourne until his retirement in 2003. He was expelled from the Church of England last year after police uncovered his crimes.

When officers raided his Eastbourne cottage in 2022, they also found heroin and ketamine. Following his arrest, the Church immediately revoked his permission to officiate.

The Diocese of Chichester, in a statement, thanked police for their swift action, saying it allowed them to manage the risks posed by Baulcomb during the investigation.

He has now been banned from attending Church of England premises or having any contact with minors under 18.