BODY MODIFIER IN CLEAR OVER OP

A US body modifier has been found not guilty of assisting in a botched labia removal in a NSW tattoo parlour.

Howard Rollins, also known by his moniker Luna Cobra, was accused of giving advice and guidance during the consensual procedure in Newcastle in January 2015.

But Judge Ian Bourke yesterday said he couldn’t be satisfied Mr Rollins was in the room, knew all the facts and circumstances, and had issued instructions to the man excising the woman’s labia.

“I must apply the presumption of innocence,” the judge said in the Downing Centre District Court when explaining he could not discount inconsistencies in the woman’s account and her possible motive to falsely incriminate him.

The woman had told the 11day trial that Mr Rollins guided the other man through the operation, instructing him to “cut and cauterise” and to get more anaesthetic from a drawer when she screamed in pain.

Mr Rollins has nearly 50,000 followers on Instagram, where he calls himself the inventor of the eyeball tattoo.

Picture: JOHN GRAINGER Howard Rollins, who has nearly 50,000 followers on Instagram, arrives at court yesterday. He was found not guilty over a botched operation in a tattoo parlour.