North Texas tattoo artist accused of sexually assaulting at least 14 women, police say

A North Texas tattoo artist whose 2008 trial on sexual assault charges in Tarrant County ended in a mistrial is back in custody and is accused in at least 14 other recent cases.

Lewisville police say they are interviewing several women who have contacted authorities.

"Right now, we have one case, " Lewisville police Capt. Mike Moore said Monday in a telephone interview. "More women have contacted the police about him, and those are under investigation."

Chapman E. Swindell, who was released from prison last summer, is accused of luring his victims by promising them a cheaper tattoo or giving them free tattoos to "build his profile," according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by the Star-Telegram on Monday.

He often offers narcotics such as PCP, hydrocodone, GHB and methamphetamine to render the victims less likely to resist, and yells "Do what I tell you!" at them if they protest his sexual advances, the affidavit states.

Swindell threatened to expose women with information he has on them, especially if they accept the narcotics, according to the affidavit.

At least 10 women contacted North Richland Hills police in 2006 after Swindell was charged with raping two clients at a tattoo business in that city.

A Tarrant County jury could not reach a verdict on the sexual assault charges during his trial in November 2008, but Swindell was sentenced to 10 years probation in a 2009 plea agreement reached with prosecutors on a charge of unlawful restraint with risk of serious bodily injury.

Swindell was later sentenced to six years in prison in 2011 for a probation violation, according to Tarrant County criminal court records. He was released June 1, 2017, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records.

In the Lewisville case, Swindell, who was going by the name of Eddie Bigbee, is accused of raping a woman at her apartment in September and then forcing her to perform sexual acts on him as someone listened on a cellphone.

The woman told police that a friend had referred Swindell to her and that she agreed to have a tattoo on Sept. 1 in Denton. Two other women also were getting tattoos.

Swindell finished the tattoos on the two women, but he told the Lewisville woman that he needed more time to finish her tattoo, according to the affidavit. She drove him to her apartment on Sept. 2 to finish her tattoo.

"Her tattoo had begun to itch and was very painful," according to the affidavit. Swindell "suggested that she make herself a whiskey and Coke." She refused.

Swindell pressured her to continue the tattoo, started drawing on her back thighs and then began to sexually assault her, according to the affidavit. He raped her several times and forced her to perform sex acts on him, the affidavit states.

At some point, the woman went to a bathroom where she called a friend to come and get Swindell. That friend arrived and drove Swindell back to his residence in Garland.

The woman went to Lewisville Medical Center for a rape exam.

An investigation began and Swindell was arrested in Garland and booked into jail Jan. 27.

Swindell has a criminal history in Parker, Tarrant and Denton counties, according to court records.

In Parker County, the tattoo artist was arrested and accused of assaulting a family member when he lived in Springtown, according to jail records.

In 2001, Swindell was arrested for assaulting a family member in North Richland Hills and received 60 days in jail. He got a day in jail for theft of $50 to $500 in a Lake Worth case, according to Tarrant County court records.

North Richland Hills investigators began an investigation in February 2006 when two Dallas women reported they were raped at Mild II Wild Tattoos & Body Piercing, 5208 Rufe Snow Drive.

The women, a 20-year-old and a 22-year-old, told police they had gone to the shop together and asked for a tattoo. They were led to separate rooms, where they say they were sexually assaulted, according to North Richland Hills police reports.

The women left the business, drove a short distance and called police.

North Richland Hills police arrested Swindell on March 31, 2006, in Lake Worth at a Texas Department of Public Safety office where he was renewing his driver's license.

Swindell was fired from the North Richland Hills shop a few days after his arrest.

As he waited for his trial in Tarrant County, Swindell was sentenced to 18 months of probation and 80 hours of community service in May 2007 in Denton County for another sexual assault. Details of that case were unavailable Monday.

At his trial in November 2008, a prosecutor told a Tarrant County jury that Swindell raped a woman at the North Richland Hills shop, then forced her to perform a sex act on him before he let her go. DNA evidence indicated semen was found in the private room, the prosecutor said.

But defense attorney Randy Bowers of Fort Worth argued that the sex was consensual, telling jurors that the woman went there with no money and "it was sex for a tattoo."

A mistrial was called by the judge after jurors could not reach a verdict.

Swindell later pleaded guilty to unlawful restraint with risk of serious bodily injury and was sentenced to 10 years' probation. Court documents say Swindell held the woman by force in the room by "grabbing her with his hands, pulling her with his hands or pushing her with his hands."

Swindell remained in the Denton County Jail Monday with bail set at $1 million.

Domingo Ramirez Jr.: 817-390-7763,@mingoramirezjr

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 1:23 PM with the headline "North Texas tattoo artist accused of sexually assaulting at least 14 women, police say."