Douglas S. Chavez, a 31-year-old tattoo artist, pleaded guilty to an amended count of sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor, according to court records. The plea occurred during a virtual hearing in 1st District Court via web conference.
Chavez originally faced charges of forcible sexual abuse, which is a second-degree felony. The plea deal was reached two weeks before the case was scheduled for a two-day jury trial on March 30-31.
According to court records, Chavez was arrested in February 2021 after the victim contacted Cache County sheriff’s deputies regarding the sexual offense. The victim reported that Chavez touched her inappropriately while performing tattoo work. She stated that when she asked what he was doing, Chavez said he was seeing how far down the tattoo could go. The woman also provided text messages in which Chavez apologized for his actions, stating he went a little too far.
Deputies previously located Chavez at The Werx Tattoo Studio, where he requested an attorney and declined to answer questions before being taken into custody.
Chavez is currently out of jail on pretrial supervision and faces up to one year in jail. His sentencing is scheduled for April 25.
