As some of you may be aware, Andrew Niland — better known to many of you on IAM as xbolloxx — was arrested earlier this week in North Bay, Ontario, along with his girlfriend, Adrianne Carbone. Here’s the pertinent information from the North Bay Nugget, a local newspaper:
Andrew Niland, 29, was granted bail Thursday. However, he remains in jail until he posts a $10,000 no-cash bond and finds two people approved by court to be his sureties to ensure he follows his release conditions.
Niland and his girlfriend Adrianne Carbone, 21, were arrested last week and jointly charged with aggravated assault for performing a labia reduction on a woman Jan. 18 at his residence.
Niland is also charged with two other counts of aggravated assault for placing an implant in that same woman’s chest — used to create a shape under the skin — in September 2007 and performing another labia-reduction procedure last April.
Court heard there are exceptions to charges involving bodily harm when it comes to piercing which could drive the issue into Canada’s highest court for a decision on consensual body modifications.
Justice of the Peace James Bubba heard that the women involved had asked to have the procedures done to them.
If he’s released, Niland is not allowed to perform certain procedures — such as branding or scarring — although he will be allowed to continue piercing if the procedure is done to accommodate a piece of jewelry.
He’s also banned from having any weapons.
Niland is facing additional charges of possessing a prohibited weapon and careless storage of that weapon after police found a .22-calibre handgun at his residence.
The weapons charge is another matter altogether, and BME takes no stance on that aspect of the case. However, the fact remains that Andrew was arrested for allegedly performing procedures on consenting adults, and the allegations of “aggravated assault” are ludicrous. He was charged as such because, under Ontario law, a person cannot legally consent to the procedures Andrew performed (unless, of course, they were being performed by a doctor). But this has always been a debate central to body modification, and now that its profile is only getting higher, these are issues that are going to have be addressed with the public at large: How much control do we truly have over our own bodies? If a grown woman, of the age of majority, of sound mind, and of her own volition, wishes to have a private practitioner perform a labia reduction on her, or to implant a silicone star, or any other number of things we see frequently in this community, should the state be allowed intercede? And if so, where is the line drawn?
If the story told is accurate, then Andrew did not coerce these people into having these procedures done: They sought him out. He is only in custody right now because the law dictates that adults are not allowed to make certain choices about their bodies. This case has the potential to have massive repercussions on the body modification industry and on our extended community, and we hope that you’ll all follow it closely. BME, of course, will keep you all up to date as much as possible. We’re currently looking into ways for people to support Andrew and Adrianne, perhaps by way of a PayPal account to help with legal fees. We’ll keep you all posted.
EDIT: Andy’s paypal is linked to [email protected] Please send paypal payments to that address in order to help him. I’m not linking a direct “donate” button for reasons mentioned in the comments below.
Comments
118 responses to “Body Modification Practitioner Arrested in North Bay, Ontario”
that makes me so angry. and it isnt the first time a body mod artist has been arrested for labia reduction either.
and the fact that they are reffering to it as ‘aggrivated assault’ is the most ridiculous thing i have heard in a long time.
It terrifies me that a good mod artist could get in so much legal trouble for preforming these procedures on consenting adults. I know that some places make certain tools (xylo, scalpels, dermal punches) illegal if not in the hands of a doctor… Would it be possible for a contract to be written up to exclude details of tools used, just listing the procedure? Would that have any legal standing?
this is so infuriating. what place does the government have in legislating what we do with our own bodies?
Found in the Criminal Code of Canada
[ http://www.atucanada.ca/content_Resources_And_Publications/pdf/legislation/Criminal%20Code%20of%20Canada%20Assault%20Self%20Defence%20Definitions.pdf ]
Aggravated assault
268. (1) Every one commits an aggravated assault who wounds, maims,
disfigures or endangers the life of the complainant.
Punishment
(2) Every one who commits an aggravated assault is guilty of an indictable offence
and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.
Excision
(3) For greater certainty, in this section, “wounds” or “maims” includes to excise,
infibulate or mutilate, in whole or in part, the labia majora, labia minora or clitoris of a
person, except where
(a) a surgical procedure is performed, by a person duly qualified by provincial law
to practise medicine, for the benefit of the physical health of the person or for the
purpose of that person having normal reproductive functions or normal sexual
appearance or function; or
(b) the person is at least eighteen years of age and there is no resulting bodily
harm.
Consent
(4) For the purposes of this section and section 265, no consent to the excision,
infibulation or mutilation, in whole or in part, of the labia majora, labia minora or
clitoris of a person is valid, except in the cases described in paragraphs (3)(a) and
(b).
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 268; 1997, c. 16, s. 5.
I find it sickening not only that there is a specific reference to this particular modification, but that “no consent… is valid.”
It’s taking away the right of an adult in a solid state of mind to make his or her own decisions.
And, while perhaps understandable from a legal standpoint, it still appalls me.
I know Andy personally and this is ridiculous.
I hope all ends well for him.
<3
This is absolutely appalling and infuriating!
This is so totally gratuitous; a blatant and ridiculous incursion of the state in trying to regulate the body. It sucks that body mod practicioners are positioned/portrayed by the state in such a manner that their purpose of practicing seems to be defiance of the legal system and the medical profession, rather than performing requested services on consenting persons.
**cough** **cough**
Province, not state. Canada, not U.S.A.
As you were ladies and gents.
I can’t believe this. If it’s consensual then there should not be a problem.
Uh… The word “state” is often used as an equivalent term to both “nation-state” and “country.” I think that is how the word is being used in these comments.
It’s the test case you’ve all been waiting for, Canadians. Get your shit together and get organized behind this case; the sooner the courts recognize such procedures as legitimate consensual works and not assault, the sooner practitioners can be operating further out in the open. It’s secrecy and back-alley operations that kill or harm seekers, not the idealized procedure itself. The sooner we can point out bad cutters without fearing we’re endangering the entire subculture the better.
Or, y’know, you can just sit on the side and bitch some more. Go buy another protest T-shirt, the pussy-cutting shirt sure helped Bertrang out.
Can the people Niland performed these procedures on refuse to testify and/or press charges? I understand that the courts are just tring to keep people safe, but at some point the state has to realize that these people aren’t children. I feel that if I can go out and pay taxes, own/rent a home,etc., then I obviously have the mental capabilities to decide whether I want someone (a doctor or some random person) doing a procedure on me.
These types of situations just boggle my mind.
Wow, this is very infuriating. I guess the government DOES have a right to say that we’re not competent enough to make sound decisions for ourselves. *cough* *cough* What a bunch of bullshit. I really hope this ends well or we need to get ready for the backlash.
This is ridiculous. Don’t Rabbis perform circumcisions on non-consenting babies? The procedures seem pretty similar to me…
andy, yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I got so steamed over this I swore like a pirate and almost barfed up my pancake breakfast. It even says that the ladies in question sought Andrew Niland out, so no, they are not little children being forced into doing something they didn’t want to do, they are grown women who wanted to change their bodies to their liking. This is my WTF of the day, week, month, whatever. I really wish there was more I could do, but I have no money to my name really, but the least I can do is hope to heck that Niland can go back to do what he is good at and mod my body how and when I choose to because it is mine and mine alone.
wren, yes! exactly! just because some people don’t seem to understand something like body modification, they seem to think “Ooooooo! oooouch! people should not be able to do that to their bodies! it’s wrong!” BAH to them, BAH HUMBUG!
Bah humbug indeed.
I understand the point of it all and everything, but considering the amount of dirty old men with hep piercing underaged genitals and suchlike who get away with it on a daily basis, this pisses me off.
This genuinely made me feel sick to my stomach. If a government can have a say in what a sound minded person does to their bodies, we really are in a totalitarian state.(state in the general term Dave).
What that woman had done is really no different than women getting breast implants, or face lifts.
🙁
Was wondering why he wasn’t replying on facebook 🙁
He has dual citizenship – both canadian and irish
wonder if there’s anything we can do here in ireland?
About the gun thing….EVERYONE HAS A GUN IN NORTH BAY. Only like 6 of those people are actually registered. North Bay is gross.
Damn.
Obviously my thoughts go out to Andy and his girlfriend.
It’s a wakeup call for our community though; for years the “reality bubble” that has been around the surgical community has enforced that we have every “right” to do the things we do. Rights, sadly, are very subjective and raising the banner of what rights you do and don’t think you have will not keep you from being arrested or prosecuted.
“What the woman had done is really no different than women getting breast implants or facelifts”…
Save that a person who is NOT a doctor is doing them. It doesn’t sound to me like the courts are making a judgment against the woman’s right to have it done- it sounds like they’re making a judgment that a non medical professional is doing it. As no specific laws exist on the books, they’re charging Andy with whatever they can to make a case. Is it RIGHT? That’s subjective. Obviously we feel it’s not.
The province Andy is in clearly feels differently.
All we can do is support Andy in any way that seems appropriate and as a culture be wary of advertising what lines we cross.
1. The so-called “complainant” is one of the “victim’s” mothers, although she is over twenty one. None of the people actually involved have complained.
2. The “gun” is a collectible Luger. He’s not armed and dangerous.
3. From the restrictions, this attack seems to include scarification.
4. I hope that BME will be contributing significantly to Andrew’s legal defense.
This was done without the consent or consultation of the provincial or federal health authorities, who are somewhat supportive of Andrew and other body artists at least off the record. This is small town cops working with a pissed off parent.
Andrew can beat this but he has no assets to hire lawyers with. He needs help to win this.
Well put Shawn.
As the mod community has become more and more experimental, the line between aesthetic modification and serious surgical procedure has become blurred. I personally believe that a labia reduction is no different from and adult circumcision (actually I’m pretty sure the reduction is less dangerous) but who am I to decide?
In many tribal cultures, the practitioners of modification and medicine are one in the same. The body mod community here in the US/Canada has taken a different approach. So where should the line be drawn? Should you be able to give breast implants or face lifts without a medical license? Does the state have the right to tell people not to give each other a dangerous surgical procedures at any level?
Anyhoo, Good luck to you Andy. Hopefully you will be able to set a precedent with your victory.
this is completely absurd. I am curious as to how the authorities became aware of the procedures that were done, if the client was entirely happy with the procedure, which i’m sure she was. I am not suggesting that the client was the one who informed the authorities, but i’m just interested as to how they became aware
I was wondering the same exact thing neek.
@neek
read up a few comments. person who complained was one the mother of one of the girls.
Neek, a pissed off parent complained to the cops.
Shawn: “It doesn’t sound to me like the courts are making a judgment against the woman’s right to have it done- it sounds like they’re making a judgment that a non medical professional is doing it. As no specific laws exist on the books, they’re charging Andy with whatever they can to make a case. Is it RIGHT? That’s subjective. Obviously we feel it’s not.” Agreed.
The situation is tricky, and I can understand that the authorities are not happy with “unqualified” people performing surgical procedures, but claiming that the charge is about “agravated assault” is absurd.
But still, in most cases people get these kind of procedures from body modification practitioners, because qualified doctors refuse to do them or charge way too much for them.
If a paypal account or something like it is set up, I’ll try to send some money, because not only is this an issue that involves the whole community, but it is especially hard for Andrew and his girlfriend.
“What the woman had done is really no different than women getting breast implants or facelifts”
Like Shawn said – the difference is obvious. These procedures are being done by doctors, in medical facilities, not some dude’s living room. Anyone who was performing boob jobs in ‘backyard’ surgeries would be arrested. Nobody would be outraged by that, not even here.
The laws in question, regarding genital mutilation, are obviously there to protect women. In some cases, maybe something could be done without her consent, but there is nobody else there to confirm one way or the other? So then the mutilator gets away with it, because there is a law saying they can do it ‘with consent’. See what I’m saying? It is a hard one… I don’t think there should be a limit on what you can do to your own body, but when someone else is doing it to you, there have to be laws in place to protect others in different circumstances.
Maybe the medical community needs to be re-educated to perform things like this – to redefine cosmetic surgery and its boundaries, rather than for the law to allow anybody with a scalpel to go around hacking people up. I don’t know what side I’m on here, because I tend not to agree to the attitude of ‘anyone should be allowed to perform irreversible surgery’ :/ Maybe some artists should put themselves through medical school and be pioneers instead of sitting around bitching that ‘the man’ is keeping them down.
consent means consent – once a person says yes and signs a piece of paper to the effect it should be treated as such!
this is ridiculous – i hope all ends well for him and changes the law 🙂
My support to Andy.. I met him at Modprom, and he was at Badur’s the next day… He was a nice guy.
I think the charges are a bit bogus because the person consented.. Aggravated assault isn’t consensual..
The line is so blurred between what can and can’t be done though.. If it was a tongue split, there’d be totally different reactions…
But, I guess, when you’re doing something on that blurry line.. the first thing you should think is “Don’t get caught”.. and unfortunately, he did.. It’s unlike Bertrang in a few ways, because he (Bertrang) was set up and offered a lot of money…
It’s just shocking to me..
And I agree with Shawn..
Prosecuting people over consensual acts is fascism. This is not about “doctor territory” since it’s not just about labial surgery. It is also about implants and scarification. If it was about “doctor territory” he would have been charged with that, not with assault. I hope that Shawn and Rachel and the other better-off members of the surgical modification community and media will send a message to the authorities that we can’t be pushed around . . . by properly funding a legal team.
How easy would it be for authorities to spend a few days reading BME and come up with a long list of people to prosecute in the same way? If Andy goes down, so could a lot of others.
if bmezine can afford to spent thousands of dollars (more?) defending its corporate assets, I hope it will throw some money to this case. seems more important, no?
“consent means consent – once a person says yes and signs a piece of paper to the effect it should be treated as such! ”
I go back to reality bubble logic on that…
If you sign a consent form saying you, as an adult, wish for me to shoot you in the leg- that doesn’t remove liability from me for doing it.
Your desire to have it done + my willingness to DO it does not excuse us from the legality or illegality of the act of doing it.
I’m TOTALLY in support of Andy here, guys… but the idealistic nonsense is getting a bit out of control.
Here are the facts as I see it (and I’m in no way close to the case)
Andy did a consensual procedure on an adult that may be “gray area legal”.
It’s something some of us have done many many many times (next time you run into me at an event, ask to hear the “cops at Modcon4 story”- it’s a doozy. But you have to buy me a drink… no free rides here) without getting in trouble,
Andy wasn’t so lucky and will likely face a pretty rough time.
We, as a community should do what we can to help Andy out- that’s not up for debate. If you can contribute anything on Andy and his lady’s behalf- please do. I certainly will.
@34
“I’m TOTALLY in support of Andy here, guys…”
Put your money where your mouth is. You’ve got millions of dollars in assets. Win an important precedent for this community! Go Shawn!
I’m trying to keep an open mind.
I agree 99% that people should be able to do whatever they want to their own bodies.
BUT…
what if the person is mentally ill and does not really understand what they are asking for?
full support to Andy and his partner! hopefully this ‘test case’ can lead the way to their freedom and steps foward for the comunity as a whole.
i dont however agree that its a ‘right’ at all. informed consent is different from consent. at this time, the powers above have dubbed us as unable to ever give informed consent of such procedures. therefore its ends up being no different to an underage person giving ‘consent’ for sex. the law states that informed consent is not possible until 16 (age of sexual consent here in NZ). not saying the authorities always get it right by any means..
Personally i think there should be a more active authority which sets guidelines for each procedure, with proper training and certification. this means some procedures would be in the realm of surgeon only and others would be able to be carried out, legally, by licensed mod practitioners who have undergone training and certification…
now the big question, how do we get there? so everyone can be happy that potential harm has been minimised with minimal losses of ‘personal freedoms’.
As somebody else pointed out, those laws appear to be in place to protect women from genuine FGM, which is a real problem as far as backyard practitioners go. I imagine a lot of women subjected to FGM would be either pressured into saying they’d given consent, or ‘brainwashed’ (forgive the loaded term) into believing they don’t want/need/deserve sexual functionality anyway.
Not that this excuses what’s happening here, of course.
I’ll certainly help out once things are set up to do so..
I’m ready to donate as soon as I find out where to do it. I REALLY hope BME has some funds to support Andy and his girlfriend.
I’m not speaking on Rachel/BME’s behalf when I say the following:
If you REALLY hope that BME has some funds to support Andy and his girlfriend, make sure you’re supporting BMEShop. the income that the shop brings in from selling shirts, jewelry, books, et all… that is what funds things like helping out our own.
We can’t just lay it on Rachel to come in and save the day if we’re not helping her out.
“consent means consent – once a person says yes and signs a piece of paper to the effect it should be treated as such!”
I’m not in favor of this ruling, but I have to disagree with the logic above.
If someone had enough physical/mental power over someone to perform a genital modification on them without their consent, it can be assumed that they would also have enough power to force them to sign a consent form against their will.
I’m not really sure what the answer is here, but it seems like it’s more of an issue of practicing medicine without a license than any kind of assault.
Is there somewhere we can contribute to Andy, such as a Paypal account? I could only contribute a minimal amount, but even if 1000 people contribute a few dollars each, that’s a massive difference. Not just IAMers, but those of us who have an interest in the bod mod community but are anti-IAM are just as likely to contribute 🙂
#40 Sarah – Just reading the quoted part of the definition of aggravated assault that “the sky conspires to swallow me” posted in #4 way upthread, I agree that this seems to be about the lack of license.
The quoted bit of law says that consent is possible for labiaplasty/etc if the person is over 18, right there in section 3(b), I don’t read this as saying women can never have it done. It does say the procedure needs to “result in no bodily harm” but if the 18+ woman is satisfied, it’s okay. It’s not a case of “you can’t ever have female genital alteration.”
Rather, the issue would be in section 3(a), with the bit about the “person duly qualified by provincial law
to practise medicine.”
For what it’s worth, in the US you can get labia reductions or sculpting done by actual board-qualified plastic surgeons if you want, it’s not a prohibited thing as far as I know, just more along the line of breast implants, which someone already posted upthread aren’t generally performed in private homes. I’m sure it does cost $$$, of course. Caveat, I don’t know how they would take it if you wanted some really “strange” sculpting or parts removed to be very different from the standard model they assume is the feminine ideal.
It’s an interesting case, perhaps it will cause some discussion about where lines should be drawn, etc.
Also I do wonder if the case would be different with only the implant, that would make it certain that concerns with FGM aren’t blurring anything.
Speaking of FGM though, I had cause to read a WHO pamphlet about it recently, and the pamphlet actually mentioned the need to be careful in definitions as some of the definitions might including voluntary piercing (not even sculpting, just piercing) and the authors did not want to make it seem they prohibit such voluntary piercing.
loose lips sink ships
almaxaquotal : Plastic surgeons do know about labia reductions. You can get any mods done by plastic surgeons really. If they are not familiar with it, they could do a little research about it and then do it. (side note: I was watching an episode of Dr.90210 where this woman wanted a diamond partially implanted into her wrist so that the bottom half of the diamond would be under her skin and the top half would be above her skin and therefore visible. But the doctor said no since it would probably fall out)
Here is the problem as I see it. I have no way to link a paypal fund from here because the people attacking BME will report it and make claims that it’s being used to sell pornography so I can’t link a paypal account from here.
If I link to it, it will get closed and the funds confiscated, like my current paypal account which has BME legal funds frozen and unavailable.
I can tell the attacks on BME are already been fired up because it’s being claimed that BME shouldn’t have sponsored APTPI last month but instead should have predicted Andy’s arrest and prepared for it. Unlike the people making these ridiculous claims, they don’t contribute to any legal defense funds. BME has it’s own bills, as well as legal bills that are constantly being increased by these people.
Several of us have already been working on plans to help Andy and due to his GF not being able to visit him until this up coming week, we haven’t been able to get his information from him. As I said, several of his close friends are helping this. We are trying to get him out on bail. Just because every move isn’t posted here, doesn’t mean we’re not working on it.
I’m trying to figure out a solution that won’t risk the donations to him. I can’t host the fund raising options personally or via BME because I don’t want to risk them getting taken. If anyone has any other ideas. Please let me know.
Several degrees of separation perhaps? Such as linking to a blog, which will link to another blog which states it has no affiliation with BMEzine.com? From there the PayPal information can be given out freely.
That’s only a quick suggestion and may be wrought with problems but I think you need to utilise the buzz surrounding this ModBlog posting and come up with something.
I’ll gladly start a blog to post the Paypal information because everyone knows I dislike what Rachel has done to BME and that I have no affiliation to BME or IAM other than my sometimes antagonistic postings on ModBlog.