On Friday, a jury found metro Detroit tattoo artist Alex Boyko not guilty of three counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct after dozens of women in 2018 accused him sexual harassment or assault.
Witnesses who said that Boyko inappropriately touched them testified in the trial, detailing their encounters with the artist as his clients during tattoo appointments.
On Thursday, prosecutors said the people accusing Boyko were “looking for accountability,” while his lawyer called it “a smear campaign.”
Boyko was the subject of a 2018 Jezebel article about the tattoo industry’s #MeToo movement.
Boyko, 26, of Livonia, was arrested in Wayne County on a warrant for three counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, charges that carry a maximum penalty of two years. The victim was identified as a 24-year-old woman from Redford Township who alleged “inappropriate sexual contact” from April to June 2015, according to a press release from the Wayne County assistant prosecutor.
Jezebel spoke to seven of Boyko’s accusers, who alleged the artist inappropriately touched, harassed, or assaulted them. He was also accused of allegedly soliciting nude photos under the guise of using them to draw tattoo outlines and sending unsolicited nude photos of himself.
In 2023, Metro Times reported that Boyko was continuing to work in the Detroit area under the alias “Lee Knows How” and making light of the allegations against him in social media posts.
