A 26-year-old tattoo artist was arrested on sexual abuse and assault charges after an incident involving an intoxicated teen last month.
According to police documents, a 19-year-girl was offered a free thigh tattoo at the Dark Side Tattoo shop in Phoenix.
Arturo Emmanuel Palafox and the victim were reportedly alone in the shop when he was giving the teen her tattoo on March 16, 2018. The pair reportedly left to get a bottle of Crown Royal and were both drinking during the incident.
Police paperwork says Palafox engaged in unwanted sexual contact and intercourse with the intoxicated victim several times, photographed her and was seen on surveillance video stirring her drink when she left the room.
The victim reportedly noticed a green powdery substance in her cup when she returned from a trip to the bathroom.
A family member of the victim contacted ABC15 and said the victim could not remember portions of the incident, matching similar reports from police paperwork.
Police say the victim contacted her sister during the incident and said she had been raped. Her sister showed up at the tattoo shop and was eventually able to take her from the scene. She alerted police that Palafox was leaving the shop and police were able to detain him during a traffic stop.
Evidence collected included a small bag of green powder, a bottle of alcohol, unopened condoms and surveillance footage from the tattoo shop.
Palafox was booked into jail on 15 counts of felony sex assault, six counts of felony sex abuse, one count of aggravated assault, two counts of unlawful recording and one count of kidnapping.
