The first conviction would not have been enough to prevent the recidivism. Fifteen women accuse a tattoo artist of rape and sexual assault in the exercise of his profession, the public prosecutor of Fort-de-France in Martinique, Clarisse Taron, told AFP on Tuesday. An investigation was opened after the filing of a first complaint last week, then extended to 14 new complaints received Monday by the prosecution, according to the same source. The prosecutor spoke of “completely serious” charges.
Especially since the man in question, aged 39, had already been convicted at the end of 2021 for similar acts, according to the prosecution. He had been subject to a probationary sentence prohibiting him from tattooing alone. “There are facts denounced which date back 10 years, but there are some which are extremely recent, which is very worrying”, affirmed on local radio RCI Me Tifany de la Poix de Fréminville, lawyer for several victims.
presumed innocent
The first charges were made public on August 19 on the “Balance your Martinique pork” page of the Instagram social network. According to a host of this page who did not wish to be identified, fifty anonymous testimonies were received as part of this publication.
The tattoo artist’s lawyer, Me Philippe Sénart, could not be reached by AFP on Tuesday. Last week, he warned against a “surge” and a “lynching on social networks”, and argued that “all citizens (…) are presumed innocent until they have been declared guilty by Justice “.