Six children under 17 given black crosses on their hands.
A couple in the US face child cruelty charges after using a homemade device to illegally tattoo six of their children.
Patty "Jo Jo" Marsh and Jacob Edward Bartels broke Georgia state law by tattooing six of their minor children without a tattooing license.
Each of the six children aged 10 – 17, received black crosses on their hands. The parents also tattooed, ‘mum and dad’ on one of their children. Only their youngest child was not marked.
The device used was a plastic pen fitted with a piece of guitar string, which, police believe, was used for all the children.
Patty Marsh told the media she was unaware of the law and that the children had asked to have the tattoos to be more like their parents. “I’m not breaking the skin. It's going to fade away, it's like a pen mark."
However, the biological mother to two of the children reported the couple after she noticed the ink marks could not be wiped off.
Police have since released the couple on bail. Patty Marsh said she could not understand the public's reaction and stated, "I’m their mother. Shouldn’t I be able to decide if they get one?”
