Tattooist sentenced to six years and four months for sexually abusing his clients

A tattooist, named Ashley Lilleyman of Chesterfield, sexually assaulted his clients while tattooing them. This would occur either at his Mansfield shop or at his home studio. 

He would begin working on the tattoos as normal before assaulting them.  The abuse spanned over a two-and-a-half-year period. 

On one occasion a woman came to Lilleyfield for a stomach tattoo and then changed her mind mid-session and asked for it to be on her arm in order to stop his unwanted advances.  

The abuse eventually came to light when one of the survivors told a family member what had happened to her, and they called the police.  When an investigation was launched, seven more women came forward regarding their experiences they had with the tattooist. 

Following the women’s decision to come forward paired with the assistance of the tattoo store that had previously employed Lilleyman, this helped to bring a strong case against him and he therefore had no chance but to plead guilty to each count of sexual assault he had been charged with. There were 14 separate counts of sexual assault in total. 

Upon becoming aware of his offences, Lilleyman was immediately sacked by the former employers at the Mansfield store.

He was sentenced to six years and four months in prison and was told that he will serve three years on extended licence when he is released. He has also been made subject of a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order which has been put in place for the next ten years to prevent him from contacting any of the survivors.

Detective Constable Mary Taylor of Nottinghamshire Police has spoken to express their gratitude to all the woman who came forward. She has also spoke of how hopefully this sentencing shows to other survivors of sexual abuse that action will be taken to ensure that those responsible will face the consequences of their actions.