CREEPS  (XII)

Everyone fears going to a dentist. I don’t have to explain why. But there was one dentist in the world that would put you in a state of terror. He is a Dutchman whose name is Jacobus Van Neirop. Yes. such a dentist like this creep can also be referred to as a quack.

When this quack dentist opened his office in late 2008, he was first welcomed by the residents in Chateau-Chinon, a small town located in a rural and remote part of France's Burgundy region known as a ’medical desert’ because of a lack of medical professionals.

Van Nierop provided false documents to practise dentistry in France and concealed the fact that he was the subject of disciplinary proceedings in his own country—The Netherlands when he was licenced to practice dentistry.

This quack was initially welcomed to the rural French town of Chateau-Chinon, which had been without a dental care provider for two years. Soon after his arrival,  the horror stories began circulating around the town.

The Associated Press has this account from a woman who said she was treated by the "Dentist of Horror," as he has been dubbed in the French media.

Sylviane Boulesteix said she was unexpectedly summoned to the dental office in central-eastern France in May 2012. Without warning, the quack pulled eight of her healthy teeth out and immediately fixed dentures on her raw gums. For three hours, the elderly woman says she sat in his chair with blood gushing from her mouth.

She later said at his trial, that Van Nierop refused to relieve her pain. A judicial expert later described that Jacobus Van Neirop as a 'cruel and perverse' man whose incompetence made Boulesteix lose several healthy teeth, go through trauma and suffer irreversible damage to her mouth."

Some of this quack’s patients said they would wake to find notes asking them to come back for further treatment.

Nicole Martin, a retired teacher who was one of this quack’s victims said,  "'Every time, he would give us what he called 'a little prick' and we were asleep, knocked out,' This unfortunate man lost several of his teeth from  abscesses caused by the horrific operations of the quack.

Ms. Martin said, “'When it was over, we would find a Post-it note saying to come back for an appointment the next day or the day after,' she added.” She set up a victims' group to press charges that grew to more than 120 members.

About 100 plaintiffs had officially filed complaints against Van Nierop, ranging from having multiple healthy teeth removed, drill bits left in their gums and teeth, abscesses, recurrent infections and misshapen mouths after he did dental work on his patients.

"Van Nierop, 51, has said that he "suffers from 'psychological problems' including gender identity issues and suicidal tendencies," Female dentists are just as competent and caring as their male counterparts. So, why couldn't this quack have worked with one of those female dentists?

It is sleazy and dishonest for him to infer that someone such as himself who is struggling with "gender identity issues" would be in de facto incapable of acting professionally. Clearly, this quack is suffering from what is called narcissistic sociopathy.

Although most people exhibit signs of narcissism to a certain degree, excessive narcissism and a lack of empathy for others is a problem that can be harmful. Telltale symptoms of this illness includes an exaggerated opinion of oneself, an inability to recognize or relate to the feelings of others, the constant seeking of attention and approval, and the desire to manipulate others to get what one wants. These tendencies that this quack carries around with him causes him to lack any sense of personal or professional responsibility in life. He clearly has no empathy towards anyone, let alone his patients he damaged through his illegal practice of dentistry.

When he was questioned about the alleged mutilations suffered by his patients, Van Neirop responded with the following reply: "It does not affect me. I'm totally blocked from the inside and I don't want to explain it all," he told the investigating judge, according to court documents. “You can lock me up for years, it will not change.” These are the words of a narcissistic sociopath.

Charles Joseph-Oudin who was representing some of the victims said, "What my clients and I expect are explanations," He added, "To understand how Mr. Van Nierop could have acted in such a way for so long, how things could have become so bad today, we have no explanations. Understanding is the first step of the victims' healing process."

The quack had refused to answer questions during the investigation, saying only that the oral health of the people in the region was deplorable. That is probably true since that community didn’t have a dentist to go to for some considerable time before the quack flew in landed on their doorsteps.

 While he was in custody during the investigations, he staged several hunger and thirst strikes, and once swallowed razor blades before he was to be questioned by the investigating judge.

This quack was officially accused by the French authorities of causing "mutilations" or “permanent disabilities” to scores of patients from 2009 to 2012, of overcharging patients and billing them for imaginary procedures not undertaken by him and of illegally practicing dentistry in France since he didn’t apply for a licence to practice dentistry in France. 

Van Nierop was arrested in 2013 but Van Nierop was released on bail to wait for his trial. He escaped from France and entered Canada as a tourist in December 2013 and remained beyond the time he was permitted to be in Canada as a tourist. He had entered Canada despite that fact that he was released by the French court under various conditions including the one that he was not to leave France.

A statement of facts in his Canadian extradition case said the RCMP (federal police) went looking for Van Nierop after receiving an official complaint from France and determining he was the subject of an Interpol notice. He was located on Labour Day in 2014 in an apartment in Nackawic, a town west of Fredericton, New Brunswick. He was later ordered extradited to the Netherlands and then from there, he was deported to back France.

He had a blanket over his head when he arrived at the courthouse in the nearby city of Nevers, France. After all the evidence was heard, the judges in their 130-page ruling, convicted the Dutchman of 85 counts of assault, including 45 counts of mutilation, and of 61 counts of fraud against his patients, their health insurance companies and the local social security agency. They fined him 10,500 euros ($12,000). The court also said that they would decide the amount of damages due to 62 plaintiffs in June 2016.

While the quack was living in an imposing home with a swimming pool, driving expensive cars and visiting luxurious hotels, he had debts of nearly one million euros, according to court documents. He may now be insolvent, which worries the plaintiffs who had claimed more than three million euros overall in damages.

The court sentenced him to eight years in prison and barred him from practising dentistry for life. He could have been sentenced to as many as 10 years in prison and fined up to $165,000.

Delphine Morin-Meneghel, the lawyer for Van Nierop, acknowledged her client was responsible for some bad procedures but she insisted he committed no intentional or premeditated violence toward any of his patients. Yeah and you can say the same things about foxes after they slaughter the hens.

Psychiatric experts said Van Nierop shows a narcissistic pervert personality with an absence of all moral sense and that he doesn't feel any compassion. During the trial, the lawyer for one patient told the dentist his client was just waiting for apologies. Van Nierop replied: "I have no feelings anymore. So, if I was offering my apologies today, I would be lying."

Marie-Jo Lemoine, a victim of Van Nierop, who celebrated the decision of the French court said after she heard the court’s verdict and sentence. “It's silly to say it but I will say it. “It feels good. He will have time to think about us. But, as for the rest, nothing has changed regarding what we'll be given in terms of compensation. It won't be enough to repair the harm he caused.”

The court acquitted the defendant of six counts of assault and some counts of fraud. Van Nierop was given 10 days to file an appeal. I can’t fathom on what grounds his appeal would be based upon. Aside from the eight years he will serve in prison, he had been detained for 18 months in a French prison since January 2015 waiting for his trial.

The Van Nierop case highlights the problem of France's 192 'medical deserts—areas where the authorities have failed to find successors for retiring doctors and dentists. As many as 2.5 million people live in these areas and that is why it was so easy for a quack like Van Nierop to slip into their communities like the plague.