James Dunn, owner of Tattoo Monkey studio on the Southwest Side, said he fired tattoo artist Joe “Joe Loco” Sanchez after learning of the woman’s story, which she posted on social media, prompting other women to share stories of misconduct about Sanchez.
Eugenio Marongiu/Getty Images/Image SourceAn employee at a San Antonio tattoo shop passed himself off as the owner when he welcomed a prospective apprentice into the store this month and allegedly sexually assaulted her while giving her a tattoo, according to the shop’s real owner.
James Dunn, owner of Tattoo Monkey studio on the Southwest Side, said he fired tattoo artist Joe “Joe Loco” Sanchez after learning of the woman’s story, which she posted on social media, prompting other women to share stories of misconduct about Sanchez.
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A Dec. 10 report the alleged victim filed with the San Antonio Police Department, which is investigating the case, said the alleged assault occurred Dec. 9 at the shop at 7903 SW Loop 410 Ste. 113. The woman also detailed the alleged incident in a Dec. 10 post to social media, which she wrote as a warning to other potential victims.
“Hey girls, just wanted to share my experience at tattoo monkey on the SW side,” the woman wrote, “specifically joelocotattoos … do NOT go to this man for tattoos.”
“When I got there he was nice, but when he started the tattoo he got very touchy,” she wrote. The post progresses into graphic detail.
Joe Loco, whom Dunn identified as 50-year-old Joe Anthony Sanchez, had made an arrangement with the woman to work at “his” tattoo shop, according to a police report.
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The shop’s Instagram account had posted a job ad for a tattoo artist, Dunn told the Express-News, and the alleged victim replied to it. Sanchez had access to the Instagram account to schedule tattoo appointments. He used the Instagram account to respond to the 18-year-old’s inquiry. He told her he was the shop owner. At that point, Dunn said, Sanchez most likely began messaging the woman on his personal Instagram account. She agreed to an apprentice-like business arrangement where she would exchange her labor for a tattoo from Sanchez.
The woman claimed that Sanchez touched her buttocks and crotch without her consent while tattooing her, and eventually escalated to non-consensual digital penetration. The victim wrote that she told police that she told him “no,” but that she was “too scared of a confrontation during the penetration.”
Sanchez has not been charged with a crime in connection to the allegations. He has not responded to Express-News’ request for comment.
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“I thought maybe he didn’t mean to have (his hand) there so I let it go, but then he started to touch me while doing the tattoo,” she wrote in the social post. “Me personally, I can’t stick up for myself, so I just laid there while he did all of this waiting for the tattoo to be over.”
Tattoo Monkey said Dec. 10 on Instagram that Sanchez was not the shop’s owner, and that he had been terminated from his position that day.
Dunn told the Express-News that he was not aware of any potential misconduct occurring within the shop, and that he fired Sanchez immediately upon learning about the allegations.
“Somebody started spamming the shop page,” Dunn said. “I started receiving more information, and then I saw a very detailed post where an 18-year-old female was explaining some serious allegations.”
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Dunn said he confronted Sanchez through a phone call.
“You could tell he was nervous,” he said. ” You could tell it in his voice. He was kind of fumbling his words.”
As the messages online poured in, Dunn made the decision to terminate Sanchez.
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“I said, ‘I need you to come over here, you need to pick up your stuff,'” Dunn said. “I said, ‘You’re done. You’re done. These are serious allegations.'”
The 18-year-old’s post led to several other potential victims coming forward with allegations of their own.
“I’m still in denial about the situation,” the 18-year-old wrote. “I was scared and just wanted it to be over that’s why I didn’t do anything in the moment.”
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