A TATTOOIST who used his work to ‘access women and abuse them’ recorded himself sexually assaulting a number of acquaintances.

Stephen Abram, who previously worked at Indelible in Old Christchurch Road, used his phone to record footage of women sleeping and using the toilet, a judge sitting at Bournemouth Crown Court heard on Friday, June 17.

Reports were first made to the police in June of last year, when one of the victims realised she was being videoed in the bathroom.

When the defendant was interviewed by officers, he put the offence down to being “lonely and drinking heavily”, prosecutor Stuart Ellacott said.

Abram, 46, also told the officers that “no other material of interest to the police” would be found.

However, further investigation of two mobile phones seized from his home “threw up a completely different story,” Mr Ellacott said.

Videos were discovered of clients undressing in a private area of Abram’s tattoo studio.

Abram also targeted women in his acquaintance.

Police went on to find videos Abram had taken of two women sleeping.

He recorded himself exposing one of his victim’s breasts and zooming in on the other’s bottom and genitals before performing a sex act on himself.

Footage was also discovered that showed Abram videoing up a women’s skirt.

Yet another victim was recorded by a concealed mobile phone as she used the toilet.

Three of the seven women targeted by Abram stood in court to read aloud statements to a judge.

“I constantly feel watched now,” said one of the women.

“I desperately wish none of us had ever met Stephen.”

Another said: “This has hurt me emotionally far worse than any physical assault ever could.”

Two further statements were read to the court by Mr Ellacott.

One of the victims wrote that the defendant uses tattooing “as a tool to access women and as a means to abuse them”.

Mitigating, Les Smith said the defendant feels “remorse, shame and revulsion” at his actions.

“[He] had a happy childhood until the age of nine, when he moved to Poole,” Mr Smith said.

“He was bullied, isolated and had no friends. Then he was sexually abused.”

The barrister said Abram has “chronic low self-esteem”, depends on being in a relationship and “resorts to heavy drinking” when under pressure.

“It seems he needs to feel loved and valued,” Mr Smith said.

“This is as much about trying to feel close to people as it is about sexual gratification.”

However, Judge Peter Crabtree OBE said the victims were in “vulnerable positions” when they were assaulted by the defendant.

Abram, of Commercial Road in Bournemouth, admitted four counts of sexual assault on a female, five of voyeurism by recording a person doing a private act for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification and one of outraging public decency on his first appearance before the courts.

He was sentenced to 23 months in prison, after which he will be subject to notification requirements for 10 years.

Abram must also comply with the terms of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.