10-Year-Old Gets Tattoo, Mother Gets Arrested

A mother in Georgia was arrested after allowing her 10-year-old son to get a tattoo.

Chuntera Napier said that her son asked if he could get a tattoo on his arm in memorial for his 12-year-old brother who died in a car accident. Napier said that she was touched by the boy’s request and had no idea that it was illegal.

Napier said:

“My son came to me and said, ‘Mom, I want to get a tattoo with Malik on it, rest in peace.’ It made me feel good to know that he wanted his brother on him. What do I say to a child who wants to remember his brother? It’s not like he was asking me, ‘Can I get Sponge Bob?’ He asked me [for] something that’s in remembrance of his brother. How can I say no?”

WCTI12 reports that the boy was spotted at school with the tattoo on his arm and one of the teachers contacted authorities. Napier was arrested and charged with misdemeanor cruelty and being a party to a crime. But the Georgia mom insists she didn’t know what she was doing was illegal.

“I always thought that if a parent gave consent, then it was fine. How can somebody else say that it’s not okay? He’s my child, and I have the right to say what I want for my child. I can’t go tell anybody else what I want for their child.”

The Marietta Daily reports that police are now searching for the tattoo artist. Police say that Napier is not giving them the information they need to find the tattoo artist.

Here’s a video from the Associated Press.

Do you think a 10-year-old should be able to get a tattoo if they have their parents consent?