In Highland, New York, a school nurse had to call the police after a 10-year-old boy came to her asking for Vaseline for his new tattoo.
As surprising as this is, what’s even more surprising is that the mother, who was arrested, claimed that she didn’t know the tattoo was permanent.
The minimum age requirement to get a tattoo in New York is 18, giving the nurse no choice but to report it to the authorities.
Mother Arrested and Charged With Endangering The Welfare Of A Child
According to a Facebook post by Town of Lloyd Court, Crystal Tomas, 33, was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child. It is reported that her 10-year-old son and another one of her children were taken from her care by Child Protective Services.
The boy apparently got a tattoo of his own name in large, blocky letters on the underside of his forearm.
When asked why the boy even got the tattoo, it was claimed that he was inspired by one of his teachers, who has a tattoo in the same spot, which the mother didn’t know.
Many people who saw the Facebook post were upset with the verdict.
Many of them are thinking the authorities were ‘overreacting’ and that it was “just a tattoo”, comparing it to neglect which they deem as much worse.
@fat2fitphobia #parentsoftiktok #mumsoftiktok #tatootiktok #Mum arrested after letting son, 10, get huge #permanent 8 inch #tattoo up his arm as ink was discovered by #schoolnurse#omg#trending#viral ♬ Unholy - Sam Smith & Kim Petras
The Tattoo Artist Was Also Arrested
The boy apparently received the tattoo from an unlicensed artist named Austin Smith, who was in the room next door in the hotel Tomas and her children were staying at in Highland and who was also arrested.
Smith claims he didn’t know what the laws in N.Y. were regarding tattooing a minor. He explains that he thought that as long as a child had permission from a parent, they were free to get the ink.
He is reported saying that this was the “biggest mistake of my life” as he now faces up to a year in prison.
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