French court sentences Dutch dentist to 8 years in prison
NEVERS, France (AP) - A French court has found a Dutch dentist guilty of assault and fraud and sentenced him to eight years in prison.
Dentist Jacobus Van Nierop, 51, showed no signs of emotion when the court in the central town of Nevers returned its verdict Tuesday. The court barred him from practicing dentistry for life.
About 100 people had issued complaints against Van Nierop, ranging from having multiple healthy teeth removed, pieces of drills left in their gums and teeth, or abscesses and misshapen mouths after he did work on patients.
Van Nierop was accused of causing "mutilations" or "permanent disabilities" to scores of patients from 2009 to 2012 and of overcharging patients and billing them for imaginary procedures.
He had faced scores of charges, some of which he was acquitted of.