Dad jailed for nine months for giving his son (8) tattoo

A FATHER who tattooed his eight-year-old son’s arm at home has been jailed for nine months for assault.

The man used a tattoo artist’s gun on his only son and was prosecuted when the mother discovered what had happened, became “furious” and went to gardaí.

The father-of-six admitted it was a reckless thing to do but pleaded with a judge not to jail him for the child’s sake, saying the tattoo would be a “permanent reminder” of this.

Imposing sentence, Judge Desmond Zaidan said it was a “unique” assault case, the first in the history of the State that he was aware of.

The accused pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to the boy in a Co Kildare town.

Sgt Brian Jacob said the boy complained after that his arm was sore. The tattoo was a 1cm inked “dot” on the boy’s left upper arm.

It was done without the permission of the boy or the mother, Sgt Jacob said. The boy was “still left with the mark”.

The court heard it was done with a tattoo gun with a needle point which “goes in and out like a sewing machine” and squirts ink under the skin.

The woman took her son to hospital, where it was treated as a “needle stick injury”.

Athy District Court heard the parents were separated and the incident happened during an access visit with the father in August 2017.

The nine-month sentence is concurrent to a two-year sentence the father is serving for possession of drugs.

Defence barrister Aisling Murphy said the accused did not accept he did it without the boy’s permission.

In his Garda statement, the man said his son had been talking about tattoos of “dragons, football players and superheroes” but wanted the “dot” because other family members had it.

The gun was ready with a sterilised needle and he thought “I’ll scare him” and put it to the boy’s arm.

His son was “all jolly about it” and pressed the lever and “that is how it got on his arm”, he told gardaí.

The child had told a doctor, however, that he “didn’t want it done”.

The accused said he “immediately realised the impact” and he has not seen his son since.

“I’m sorry and I’ll make it up to him, your honour. He’s my son, my only son.”

Judge Zaidan said it was unacceptable behaviour and he “should have known better”.

Judge Z aid an said he was not aware of any previous prosecutions in the State for this type of assault.

“It’s unique, it’s highly unusual,” Judge Zaidan said.

The court heard the father disputed the age of the boy, saying he was 11 at the time and not eight. But he was unable to give Judge Zaidan his date of birth.

After it was established the boy was just short of his ninth birthday at the time, the judge said the accused must be the only father who did not know his child’s date of birth.

‘It’s a harsh world outside that door,’ father pleads to judge