‘Staggeringly Stupid’ Man Jailed for Permanently Tattooing Children, Believing the Inkings Were Temporary

YOU NEED TO KNOW

• A 31-year-old man was sentenced to three years in prison for giving permanent tattoos to a group of young children, thinking the inks were temporary.

• Patrick Coe was described as “staggeringly stupid” by Judge Sarah Mallett during his sentencing

• “His claim that smaller designs would fade turned out to be false,” Mallett added

A man in England has been jailed for giving permanent tattoos to a group of young children.

Patrick Coe, 31, from Newcastle, about 180 miles north of London, was sentenced to three years in prison for giving permanent tattoos to three young children whom he believed were temporary tattoos. BBC and local newspaper chronicle reported.

The defendant pleaded guilty to three counts of child cruelty, which were reported in the media, and was granted a ten-year restraining order at Newcastle Crown Court.

Coe, who left one of the children permanently disabled, was described in court as “staggeringly stupid”. According to the BBC, he used his own home kit to tattoo children, leaving them in pain.

“Children complained of pain while Coe tattooed them and his claim that the small designs would fade turned out to be false,” judge Sarah Mallett said, according to the BBC.

The children were sent to the hospital for medical tests to detect possible infections and were given preventive antibiotics for hepatitis B and tetanus. Chronicle.

Mallet told the court that when confronted about the tattoos, Coe initially claimed he “didn’t see anything wrong” with what he did. He has since expressed regret for his actions, according to the BBC.

Accordingly chronicleOne of the victims suffered a mild infection and is currently receiving treatment following the traumatic incident.

The second child said that he was told that the tattoo was temporary and would come off. They then underwent many injections and blood tests and suffered “serious anxiety and distress” as a result. Mallet said the third victim was also left “distressed and fearful” and needed therapy after the incident. chronicle.

“The kids didn’t choose to get a permanent tattoo. They put them at risk because you tattooed them. They were visibly marked with a permanent reminder of you and that,” Mallett said. chronicle.

“This was a stunningly stupid and idiotic thing to do, and it was also a very harmful thing,” he added.

Coe’s attorney, Brian Hegarty, said he did not intend to cause the victim pain. “He now realizes that what he did was incredibly stupid and should not have happened,” he said, according to the BBC.

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PEOPLE contacted Newcastle Crown Court for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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