A tattoo artist from Maryland is out of a job after accusations arose that he may have inappropriately touched a client. The sexual assault allegations came from a 19-year-old woman who was having her inner thigh tattooed at the time when the incident is said to have taken place. The investigation is still ongoing, but no other clients have come forward with similar accusations.
The female client claims that she wore the bottom half of a bathing suit during her tattooing session. Despite this, she says, that as the tattoo artist worked on her inner right thigh, he began to grope her privates. This apparently continued for up to 30 minutes while he was also working on her thigh tattoo.
She further claimed that, out of fear that he might intentionally mess up her tattoo or otherwise injure her with the needle, she did not fight against the unwanted touching. He was fired after his employer was made aware of the accusations that he faces. However, he has since become reemployed at a different tattoo establishment.
Allegations of sexual assault in Maryland are serious charges and are generally handled as such. It has been noted that the tattoo artist in question has a prior criminal record, although this is no indication of guilt, and his rights and innocence must be maintained throughout the entirety of his trial court proceedings. Instead, the burden of proof rests upon the prosecution, who must prove that the charges he faces are true and valid beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: wjla.com, "Police: Md. tattoo artist sexually assaulted teen client in private design studio", Kevin Lewis, Aug. 29, 2014