Girl, 14, Given Stomach Tattoo By Unlicensed Tattooist Using Kit Bought Online

Girl, 14, Given Stomach Tattoo By Unlicensed Tattooist Using Kit Bought Online

An unlicensed tattooist has been fined just £40 after he gave an underage girl a tattoo with a kit bought online.

Ross Richardson tattooed rosary beads on the stomach of the 14-year-old girl - who has not been named or identified - at his flat on a mattress on the floor.

The girl paid him £20 for the inking which was designed to commemorate her late grandfather.

Richardson, 23, pleaded guilty to tattooing a minor and was fined £40 at Stroud Magistrates' Court

The girl's furious mother, Angela Godwin, 34, from Gloucester told the Mail: "I think it is disgusting he has got away with just a £40 fine. It's pathetic. My daughter was vulnerable and she was put in a compromising position by this man.

"I'm so angry and so upset with what has happened and the tiny amount of punishment he received. It was an unforgivable act of selfish greed. I despise him."

The mum of three, who works as a midwife, added: "She had blood tests and they are clear but it has petrified her. She hates it and regrets it entirely. She is desperate to have it removed and is really upset she has this horrible mark on her.

"She can't have it removed until she is 18 and even then it could cost £2,000 so I see this as her punishment."

The design shows a set of rosary beads with the letter J underneath, for her grandfather John, who died in March.

Angela first spotted the tattoo in June, and when she heard how the tattoo was administered, she called the police:

"He never asked her age or gave her any information on safety and just did not seem to care," she told MailOnline. "He asked her who knows about it and she lied and said her dad, to which he apparently replied 'That's good enough for me'.

"At the age of 14 I do not see how it can be her fault. She didn't have the capacity to make her own decisions. He had a responsibility to say no to her."

Richardson was fined £40 and ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge as well as £20 costs at Stroud Magistrates' Court in Gloucestershire

Prosecuting, Teresa Perry said: 'No questions were asked of age or consent. Her mother was aghast."

Richardson has not commented.

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