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A ‘staggeringly stupid’ man who permanently tattooed three young children has been jailed.
Patrick Coe, 31, left the children physically and emotionally damaged by carrying out the ‘foolish’ and ‘harmful’ acts, a court heard.
One of the children thought the tattoo was a temporary one that many kids get at parties or on holidays.
The children told family members that the tattoos were painful and all three were taken for medical tests in case they had been infected with any diseases.
All three had to have hepatitis B and tetanus injections, as well as blood tests, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
The children were not just physically harmed by Coe’s actions as they were also left with sleeping problems and requiring therapy.
When confronted, Coe, from Newcastle, admitted what he had done and said he didn’t see anything wrong with it.
The court heard he also ‘laughed and joked’ about it and ‘found the whole situation hilarious’.
Patrick Coe, 31, left the three children physically and emotionally damaged by permanently tattooing them
All three children had to have hepatitis B and tetanus injections, as well as blood tests, Newcastle Crown Court (pictured) heard
One of the victims, who described the pain as being a seven out of ten, suffered a minor infection along with swelling and pain.
They said the ‘after care’ consisted of the tattoo site being wiped with a baby wipe.
That victim was left feeling anxious afterwards, struggled to come to terms with what happened and has been receiving therapy.
A second victim said they were told the tattoo was temporary and would come off.
They experienced slight pain, was left itchy at school and needed multiple injections and blood tests, which caused ‘significant anxiety and distress.’
They said they ‘hate’ the tattoo and are likely to require therapy.
A third victim was left ‘upset and scared’, suffering sleeping problems, needing therapy and feeling significantly anxious as a result of the medical treatment.
Judge Sarah Mallett told Coe: ‘The children didn’t choose to have a permanent tattoo. They were put at risk by you giving them tattoos. They are visibly marked with a permanent reminder of you and this.
‘This was a staggeringly stupid and foolish thing to do and also a very harmful thing to do.’
Coe pleaded guilty to three counts of child cruelty and was jailed for three years and given a ten year restraining order.
Brian Hegarty, defending, said: ‘It’s quite staggering and defies belief he could be so foolish.’
Mr Hegarty said Coe did not intend to cause the victims pain and is remorseful.
He added: ‘He does now appreciate what he did was incredibly stupid and should not have happened.’