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A Las Cruces tattoo artist has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a customer and giving alcohol to a teen. 

Billy Porter, 42, is charged with four counts of criminal sexual penetration, one count of criminal sexual contact and one count of selling or giving alcoholic beverages to a minor.

He was booked into the Doña Ana Detention Center on Friday. It is unclear if he has an attorney. 

“The defendant in a position of trust as a tattoo professional took advantage of the victim who was in an exposed position and alone in his tattoo shop,” states a pretrial detention motion filed by prosecutors in 3rd Judicial District Court. “The defendant has shown that he will use his position as a tattoo artist to lure women to trust him then sexually abuse them.” 

Officers were notified after a 19-year-old woman went to the Las Cruces Police Department on April 9 to report the alleged assault, according to an arrest affidavit filed in Doña Ana Magistrate Court.

“On April 10, the Las Cruces Police Department contacted the NMSP Investigations Bureau and requested assistance with the case,” New Mexico State Police wrote in a Saturday news release.

Police spoke with the woman, who said that around 12 p.m. on April 8, she went to the Porter House Ink Piercing and Tattoo shop — located in Las Cruces near E. Lohman and Chaparro — to get a tattoo on her hip, the affidavit states.

Porter House Ink Piercing and Tattoo did not respond to calls for comment.

The woman told officers that when she arrived, Porter offered her a bottle of Crown Royal Whiskey and told her to drink, according to the affidavit. She said that he had never offered her alcohol during previous appointments. 

“After some time had passed and other employees left the business, Porter’s demeanor changed,” New Mexico State Police said.

The woman told police that Porter began groping and biting her before the situation escalated to sexual abuse, the affidavit states. She told officers that Porter began recording the abuse on his phone.

“People arrived at the Porter House Ink, which stopped Mr. Porter from doing anything else,” according to the affidavit. “He finished the tattoo and she paid him.”

An arrest warrant was issued April 10 and New Mexico State Police took Porter into custody.

Porter has previously been arrested for sexual assault, according to court records.

In 2022, he was charged with criminal sexual penetration, assault with intent to commit a violent felony and conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence after allegedly sexually abusing a woman at her home while doing a tattoo, according to court records.

The case was dismissed by prosecutors in 2024 due to "insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.