A tattoo artist has been jailed after he raped one customer and sexually assaulted five others.

Paul Little, of Bramhall Street, Warrington, ordered his victims, aged between 18 and 49, to undress before touching them and exposing himself at his parlour in Salford.

In the most shocking incident, the 56-year-old raped a 'vulnerable' client as she admired her completed tattoo, the Manchester Evening News reports.

The offences took place during a six-year period, between 2013 and 2019, when Little was working at Rabbit Tattoos, in Irlam.

Little was jailed for eight and a half years at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday

The court heard that Little had raped one woman in a 'spontaneous' attack when she visited his parlour to have an extensive tattoo done in 2014.

Prosecutor Rachel White said that, with the victim inside the shop, Little locked the door before he started making inappropriate comments to her.

He then cupped the woman's breast and tried to kiss her.

The work then continued but, as the woman was later admiring her completed tattoo, Little bent her over a bed, pulled down her underwear and 'momentarily penetrated her'.

"She says it happened very quickly and she bucked her upper body backwards a couple of times to push him away," said Ms White.

However, such was the victim's confusion over what had happened that she returned to the parlour the next day to allow Little to take photographs of the tattoo.

In a statement read out in court, the woman said the incident had 'ruined her life and her marriage'.

She said she initially did not want to tell anyone what had happened for fear of the damage it might cause.

Meanwhile, on a separate occasion, Little ordered an 18-year-old woman to remove her clothes before grabbing her breast and making a number of explicit comments about them.

The court heard that another victim had their breasts grabbed by Little after he made inappropriate comments about them.

The woman told him to stop 'in no uncertain terms', said Ms White.

In another shocking incident, Little sucked the nipple of one woman before kissing her on the mouth and exposing himself.

He then attempted to put her hand on his penis.

Three of the victims went to police separately to make allegations about Little last year.

He was questioned by officers and charged with four counts of sexual assault last December.

When a report on the charges appeared in the M.E.N. that month, several further victims came forward.

However, Little denied carrying out the offences.

Did you know we offer a free email newsletter service?

Each CheshireLive bulletin delivers the latest breaking news, what's on events and the hottest talking points straight to your inbox. For more information about how - and why - to subscribe,click here.

Following a trial last month, a jury found him guilty of one count of rape, five counts of sexual assault and two counts of exposure.

Mitigating, Gwen Henshaw, told the court that Little's childhood had been marred by abuse, and he had felt 'considerably unloved'.

She added: "Mr Little has acknowledged and realises how an unloved childhood has made him predisposed to trying to engage with people in a way that clearly people find irresponsible and inappropriate.

"He has had to think long and hard about what he would call his banter."

Ms Henshaw added that sending Little to prison would have a 'significant' impact on his wife and family.

Jailing Little, Judge Elizabeth Nicholls described him as 'exploitative and opportunistic'.

She added: "Women should not have to tolerate behaviour or comments such as this.

"Mr Little, I have heard that you are a man who has a talent with art. You have used and abused that to commit these offences.

"It is still a talent nevertheless. I hope you are able to use your time in custody to reflect on what you class as banter.

"It is distasteful and it makes people feel uncomfortable.

"Your sexual antics are not only outdated but wholly inappropariate."

Judge Nicholls praised the victims for their 'courage' in coming forward, adding: "I hope that all of you can feel there is some closure in this matter and can move on with your lives."

All of the victims have been, and continue to be, supported by specialist officers from GMP and partners agencies including St. Marys.

Little was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, while a restraining order was imposed in relation to one of the victims.

Detective Constable Stefani Matthews, of GMPs Salford CID, said: Paul Little is a depraved individual who abused his position of trust and committed atrocious sexual offences against innocent women, who have since bravely come forward to ensure that he now spends a lengthy time behind bars.

We, alongside our partners, continue to support the victims of Littles crimes and hope that todays hearing can bring an element of closure on what has been an exhausting pursuit for justice going back as far as seven years for some of these women.

Little seemed to think that he could deny his way out of these shocking and serious allegations, and we are pleased that the jury delivered the guilty verdicts and saw through this mans deceptive lies. He is yet to show any remorse for the gross impact he has had on these womens lives, which further compounds his offending.

Littles acts towards these women were abhorrent, but the common finding during this investigation is how uncomfortable he would tend to make women feel while they were in the shop as his client, and some of the things these women were subjected to hear were completely unacceptable; I hope others who are victims of physical or verbal abuse feel they can contact police and information will be treat with the strictest confidence.

Originally posted here:

Tattoo artist raped vulnerable client and sexually assaulted five others - Cheshire Live