A tattooist who sexually assaulted eight of his female clients has been jailed.
Ashley Lilleyman repeatedly sexually assaulted each of his victims while he was tattooing them.
The predator targeted several of his customers, with eight of them coming forward to help police bring him down.
Some of his victims were assaulted multiple times during prearranged appointments, between January 2022 and July 2024.
Lilleyman started the tattoos as normal before assaulting his victims – either at a Mansfield shop he was working at or at his home studio.
One woman who came in for a stomach tattoo changed her mind mid-session because of his behaviour and asked that it be inked on her arm instead – all in a bid to stop the 30-year-old’s unwanted advances.
Lilleyman’s extensive crimes started to come to light after one of his victims told a family member what had happened to her and they then called the police.
Disgusted by Lilleyman’s actions, his former employers at the store in Mansfield immediately sacked him after learning about his offending.
When an investigation was launched by detectives, seven more women shared their experiences of abuse at the hands of the tattoo artist, over a two-and-a-half year period.
Their decision to come forward, coupled with the assistance of the tattoo store that had previously employed Lilleyman, helped build a strong case against him.
Based on this evidence, the tattooist was left with no option but to eventually plead guilty to each of the 14 separate counts of sexual assault he’d been charged with.
Lilleyman, of Hucklow Avenue, Chesterfield, was sentenced to six years and four months in prison during an appearance at Nottingham Crown Court earlier today (22 August).
He was also told that, due to him being a “dangerous offender”, he will serve three years on extended licence when he’s released.
Lilleyman was additionally made subject of a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order preventing him from contacting any of his victims. These will all run for the next ten years.
Detective Constable Mary Taylor, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“We’d like to firstly express our sincere gratitude to all the women who made the brave decision to share what happened to them.
“Thanks to each of them finding the courage to come forward, and his former employers’ assistance throughout our investigation, we were able to expose Lilleyman’s vile crimes.
“Seemingly without any care for the trauma he was causing, he repeatedly abused his position to assault his clients while they were in a vulnerable position – all for his own sexual gratification.
“As many as eight women have come forward after they were targeted by Lilleyman – some of them more than once. We hope each of them takes some small amount of solace in the knowledge he didn’t escape justice and will serve time in prison.
“We hope this sentencing shows other survivors of sexual abuse that we, as a police force, will listen to you if you tell us about your experiences and will take action, to ensure those responsible face the consequences for their actions.”
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