A Grantsville woman is facing a misdemeanor charge of illegal tattooing after she allegedly inked a 14-year-old boy without his parents' permission.
According to police, the 20-year-old woman “admitted to tattooing the minor but said she believed he was 17 years old.” However, Utah law prohibits tattooing or body piercing on anyone under the age of 18 without parental consent; it’s a class-B misdemeanor.
The boy and his older sister went to the woman's home on March 28, according to a search-warrant affidavit, and he agreed to pay her $40 for an “Egyptian design” tattoo on his chest. His 18-year-old sister told police she had previously paid the woman $5 for a small tattoo, which was also done at the woman's home.
The boy's mother contacted police on April 23. She was “very upset” and concerned that the needles used to give her son a tattoo “may not have been sterile before use, and she was unsure if they were tattooed in a sterile area inside of the home.” Police contacted the Tooele County Health Department and learned that the woman did not have a required license to apply tattoos.
The search warrant also indicated that after the woman tattooed the boy, she drove him and his sister to a gas station and bought tobacco products for them. The woman has also been charged with two counts of selling tobacco to a minor, class-C misdemeanors.
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