Couple arrested for giving kids tattoos

Lady Stardust

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What is going on in Georgia!?! ;)


Couple arrested for giving kids tattoos

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A northwest Georgia couple arrested for giving six of their children homemade tattoos say they didn't do anything wrong. The kids, they say, wanted the tattoos to be like Mom and Dad.

"I'm their mother," Patty Jo Marsh said late Saturday. "Shouldn't I be able to decide if they get one?"

Georgia law prohibits tattoos from anyone other than a licensed professional. Children under 18 are also prohibited from getting tattoos.

Marsh and her husband, Jacob Bartels, did the tattoos in their Summerville home. They cleaned up a tattoo machine someone gave them, and used guitar strings as a needle. Out of the seven children in their custody, only the youngest child did not get a tattoo.

"They weren't hurt by them," Marsh said. "We would never do anything to hurt them."

Marsh said the children, ages 10 to 17, wanted the small cross tattoos, and the couple did them after Thanksgiving. But when two of the children spent a weekend after Christmas with their biological mother, she reported it to DFACS and police.

At least 10 police officers searched the family's home on Dec. 28, Marsh says, and she and her husband were arrested. They were each charged with cruelty to children, reckless conduct and tattooing, something Marsh they didn't realize was illegal.

"If we knew that, we wouldn't have done it," Marsh said.

The couple bonded out of jail Friday, and now is awaiting a court date. DFACS temporarily took the children out of the home, Marsh said. But now all of the children are home.

Marsh says she feels that the entire incident has gotten blown out of proportion. The couple contends they are good parents, but now they're being labeled child abusers, which Marsh says is untrue.

“If I’m such a bad parent, then how come they brought the kids back right after I got out jail?" Marsh asked.

http://www.ajc.com/news/couple-arrested-for-giving-265194.html
 
“If I’m such a bad parent, then how come they brought the kids back right after I got out jail?" Marsh asked.
:banghead:

I was waiting for someone to post this story...
As someone who has 7 tattoos, I don't have a problem with them at all..
BUT, as someone who has gotten their first tattoo at age 15, I can without a doubt say that at their ages they aren't old enough to know if they want something permanently tattooed on their body. Eww and with a home made gun even...

My problem is with the home made gun. WHAT were the parent thinking using a guitar string??? I'm sure they didn't use a new guitar string with every child, so imo, they should be charged for putting their health in danger as well. The whole cross on their hand thing bungs me too.. It's really tacky. But, to each their own I guess..

I guess it's up to you to decide on whether or not you want your minor child tattooed (if it's legal in your state) but me personally, I would never in a million years sign for my kids to get a tattoo... If they want one bad enough, they can wait til they're 18 to get it and hopefully by then they've thought it thru... and they's be going to a professional....
 
If it's true the kids wanted tattoos, then why not let them save their money so when they're older they can get one done professionally? Why do something like this (using guitar strings) because that's what the kids wanted? Also, apparently there is another parent who did not agree to this being done.

VB
 
If it's true the kids wanted tattoos, then why not let them save their money so when they're older they can get one done professionally? Why do something like this (using guitar strings) because that's what the kids wanted? Also, apparently there is another parent who did not agree to this being done.

VB

If little kids want tattoos then let them get the temporary ones and wait until their older.

Did anyone see the interview with the step-mom/mom? She said she can't believe this story was getting so "blowed out of proportion."

Total of 7 kids in the care of Marsh and her husband.

We need to find an icon that express the feeling of utter disbelief yet not the least bit surprised after seeing the interview.
 
The 10 year old is way too young for something perminant. If the 17 year old wanted one then he or she should of waited till they were 18. I've wanted a tattoo for years, but can't decide what I want and I'm 33. So, I can't believe a 10 year old knows.:twocents:
 
There's already a fairly long thread on this in Crimes in the News -- lots of good posts.:)

[ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93515"]GA - Parents Arrested for Giving Kids Tattoos - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community[/ame]
 

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