A former Victoria tattoo artist pleaded guilty to four out of six counts of sexual assault in court Friday morning.
David Samuel Hadden was arrested and charged with five counts in August 2020, after which a sixth was added. He had been tattooing out of Carne Tattoo on Johnson Street.
In a statement following his arrest, the Victoria Police Department said it first became aware of Hadden in 2019 when a woman reported a sexual assault during her appointment with him. She later opted not to pursue the complaint but re-approached the department in July 2020 when others began sharing reports of similar experiences on social media.
Hadden has been on bail since his arrest with conditions not to tattoo women.
Friday morning, Hadden appeared virtually with his lawyer Brad Smith out of Kamloops to plead guilty to four counts.
Judge Robert Higinbotham ordered a pre-sentence report, including a psychological analysis and risk assessment, to be presented to court on Jan. 27, 2022.
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