Tattooed man charged

AUCKLAND: The man who rose to infamy after going public about his struggle to get a job — because he has the word Devast8 tattooed across his face — is back before the courts.

Mark Cropp became internationally known last year after he spoke to the Herald on Sunday about being unable to get a job because of his extensive facial ink.

He said his brother tattooed the nickname ‘‘Devast8’’ on his face during a heavy night of drinking in jail.

He had said when released he wanted to get off the unemployment benefit, get a job and put food on the table for his family. However, employers would not have a bar of him.

‘‘One employment place said to me, ‘I wouldn’t employ you with that on your face, I wouldn’t even take a second look at you’,’’ he told the Herald last year.

‘‘I’ve had other people that just shrugged and laughed at me.’’

The Herald on Sunday said that Cropp, who turned 21 in August, would stand trial in November on charges of male assaults female and threatening to kill.

The trial is before a judge alone. Cropp revealed his regret over the tattoo last year.

‘‘Once it was started, I thought, I can’t go back on it now,’’ he said of the night his brother tattooed the word on his face.

‘‘I wish I had stopped while the outline was there, to be quite honest.’’

Police could not comment on the charges Cropp is facing as the matters were before the courts. — NZME