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Two young women are using the power of social media to warn teenagers about sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of a West Island tattoo artist who used his boutique as a hangout for troubled girls when he sexually abused them.

In 2007, Rowan Mckenzie, 49, was convicted of sexually assaulting one of the women, when she was 15, inside his shop in 2005 when it was located on Sources Blvd. In a more recent case, Mckenzie pleaded guilty in February to two counts each of sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching for having sex with two teenage girls while they were minors, also inside his shop, in 2013.

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While her identity is protected by a standard publication ban that protects the identities of the victims of sex crimes, one of the more recent victims decided to go public and described what she experienced on Facebook. In an interview with the Montreal Gazette, the woman said she merely hoped to warn people she knew of what went on inside Mckenzie’s shop. She said that in 2013, Mckenzie’s boutique was known as a popular hangout for troubled teens in Pierrefonds and that he used it to his advantage to have sex with her while she was going through a difficult time.