DETROIT (FOX 2) - A jury found Alex Boyko, a well-known Metro Detroit tattoo artist, not guilty of sexual misconduct on Friday.
Boyko was facing three counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct stemming from alleged inappropriate contact with clients during tattoo appointments.
"What I can say is I’m supremely disappointed," said Al Schenk-Rawlins, one of the accusers.
While they did not testify during the trial, Schenk-Rawlins said they were sexually assaulted by Boyko.
Numerous other women also accused Boyko of misconduct. Several witnesses who said he inappropriately touched them did take the stand, describing their encounters with the artist.
"I have so much proof that I can look back on and remind myself that this isn’t OK, that he shouldn't be allowed to be around young women. He shouldn't be around women at all," another accuser said.
On Thursday, one witness and tattoo client told the jury that Boyko sent her inappropriate texts and explicit photos when she was only 17 years old. She also stated that she sent him photos in return, which Boyko asked for.
"I was really going through a rough time at that age, especially – more than any 17-year-old should be going through," she said, adding that he later grabbed her rear-end while he was tattooing her calf, without permission.
Alex Boyko
During the trial, prosecutors said the people accusing Boyko were "looking for accountability," while his lawyer called it "a smear campaign."
"I guess you could speculate that someone wasn’t convincing, but no level of assault is ever acceptable," Schenk-Rawlins said. "He is dangerous, and he preys on vulnerable young girls."
The charges were brought against him in late 2019 after a woman came forward with allegations that he had touched her in 2015.
"He’s been able to slip through the cracks on all of this, in the name of defamation," an accuser said.
The women FOX 2 spoke with after the trial said they fear that the not guilty verdict will allow him to continue his actions.
"He can continue tattooing, he can legally put hands on whomever, and the jury today let that continue," Schenk-Rawlins said.
"This thing that happened to me when I was younger that I let slide is not something that is OK, or (something that) I would let happen to me today," said one of the women who testified against Boyko.
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