A tattoo artist from North Texas has been accused of luring at least a dozen women with free or cheap tattoos before he sexually assaulted them, the Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday, citing police.
Chapman Edward Swindell, 38, of Lewisville, Texas, reportedly offered women tattoos for free or low prices under the pretext of building “his profile.” Swindell would partially ink the women and then would then allegedly order them to remove their clothes. If they resisted, he would offer them alcohol or drugs, police said. Swindell would then forcibly hold the women down and rape them, paper reported.
A woman told police she drove Swindell back to her apartment in September so he could complete a tattoo. Midway through, the woman told Swindell to stop because the procedure was painful. According to the affidavit, Swindell suggested she drink a whisky and Coke to quell the pain.
When she refused he asked, “If I gave you something to take the pain away, that no one would know about but us, would you want that?”
Swindell briefly resumed work then raped her, authorities said. The woman reported Swindell to police. Investigators found 13 additional women who said they had been sexually assaulted by Swindell, WFAA-TV reported. Swindell was arrested and charged on Jan. 27, the station reported.
According to authorities, Swindell has a history of legal issues. He had previously been accused of aggravated assault, and served 2 years of a six-year prison sentence between 2011 and 2013 for unlawful restraint with risk of serious bodily injury. In 2017, he spent six months in jail for attempting to injure an elderly person.
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