Mother arrested after allowing her 10-year-old son to get a tattoo

A Cobb County mother has been charged with misdemeanor child cruelty after she allegedly let her 10-year-old son get a tattoo in memory of his deceased brother. Chuntera Napier, of Acworth, said 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 on 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 said 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.

With news video.