Mom arrested for allegedly letting child, 10, get a tattoo

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By David Ibata

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Cobb County mother was charged with misdemeanor child cruelty after she allegedly let her 10-year-old son get a tattoo in memory of his deceased brother, Channel 2 Action News reported.

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Chuntera Napier (left) of Acworth and her 10-year-old son, Gaquan, show off the tattoos they got to remember the woman's other son, Malik, who was struck and killed by a motorist in Macon about two years ago. Napier has since been arrested. State law prohibits tattoos for persons under the age of 18.

Channel 2 Action News, Channel 2 Action News Chuntera Napier (left) of Acworth and her 10-year-old son, Gaquan, show off the tattoos they got to remember the woman's other son, Malik, who was struck and killed by a motorist in Macon about two years ago. Napier has since been arrested. State law prohibits tattoos for persons under the age of 18.

Enlarge photo

Chuntera Napier, of Acworth, and her 10-year-old son Gaquan display the tattoos they got to remember Gaquan's older brother, Malik.

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Chuntera Napier, of Acworth, told Channel 2 that her 12-year-old son, Malik, was struck and killed by a motorist in Macon about two years ago, and her other son, Gaquan, wanted a tattoo like hers to remember his older brother by.

“My son came to me and said, ‘Mama, I want to get a tattoo with Malik on it, rest in peace,'” Napier said. “It made me feel good to know to know that he wanted his brother on him.”

She said she did not know it is illegal in Georgia to tattoo anyone under the age of 18.

“What do I say to a child who wants to remember his brother? It’s not like he’s asking me if can I get him a Sponge Bob,” she said. “He’s asking me for something that’s in remembrance of his brother. Well, how do I tell a child no?”

Napier took her son to a tattoo artist in Smyrna. When the child went to school, someone noticed the tattoo and called authorities.

The mother was arrested Tuesday and spent that day and Wednesday morning in jail. In addition to the child cruelty count, she was charged with being a party to a crime. She has since been released to await a March court hearing.

“I always thought if a parent gives consent, then it’s fine,” Napier said. “How can somebody else say it’s not OK? He’s my child, and I have a right to say what I want for my child.”

Acworth police Chief Mike Wilkie disagreed. He told Channel 2 that police had no choice but to arrest Napier after investigating and consulting with the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office and Solicitor’s Office.

“We hope they can find something that can sustain them through that loss, but this is not the way, and it is illegal, and it was something we were bound by the law to investigate and to prosecute,” Wilkie said.

Police now want to speak with the person who allegedly applied the tattoo to Gaquan.

Other parents have been arrested before in Georgia for allegedly giving their children tattoos.

Last April, a man in Floyd County, in northwest Georgia, was found guilty of giving a tattoo to a person under 18 after he tattooed “DB,” for “Daddy’s Boy,” on the shoulder of his 3-year-old son. He was sentenced to 12 months’ probation and fined $300.

About two years ago, a couple in Summerville, also in northwest Georgia, were arrested and charged with cruelty to children, reckless conduct and illegal tattooing after they allegedly gave all six of their youngsters, ages 10 to 17, small cross tattoos.

-- Staff writer Alexis Stevens and the Associated Press contributed to this article.