The Provincial Court of the Balearic Islands has upheld a five-year prison sentence for an Eivissa tattoo artist who sexually abused a Scottish tourist in 2022. The assault took place during a tattoo session in his Sant Josep studio, where he inserted his fingers into the victim's vagina without consent for 25 minutes. He must also pay her 15,000 euros in compensation and abide by a seven-year restraining order.
The First Section of the Provincial Court of the Balearic Islands confirmed on Tuesday the conviction of E.J.M.O., a 50-year-old tattoo artist from Eivissa, for sexually abusing a client during the summer of 2022. According to the ruling from the Superior Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJIB), the incident happened on the night of June 15 in the defendant's studio in Sant Josep. The victim, a Scottish tourist on vacation with friends, went with one of them to get a tattoo of a butterfly silhouette near her hip.
While performing the tattoo, the defendant took advantage of the woman's position, as she was not wearing underwear, to insert the fingers of his left hand into her vagina without consent and move them for about 25 minutes. The sentence states that the victim was paralyzed by the shock and fear that the aggressor might do something worse, preventing her from reacting. The defendant denied the facts, but the victim's testimonial statement was corroborated by evidence that reinforced its truthfulness.
The tattoo artist has prior records for similar acts, including a complaint for abusing two minors—one under 16—and a firm 2024 sentence for fondling a minor in 2021 at the same location. The Civil Guard confirmed he had been arrested a week before this complaint for similar incidents, with a varying modus operandi. The Public Prosecutor's Office had requested six years in prison and a 16-year ban on working with minors, but the imposed penalty is five years in jail, 15,000 euros for moral damages, and a prohibition from approaching within 300 meters for seven years.
The sentence is not final and can be appealed before the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the TSJIB. The judges emphasized that the behavior had an 'unequivocal sexual meaning and content' and negatively affected the victim's intimacy, with no doubts about the clarity with which the defendant perceived the situation.
