Central Texas mother allows children to get tattoos

A Central Texas mother was taken into custody after allowing her young children to be tattooed. Police say the mom was intoxicated at the time and let her boyfriend's brother do the work. Now the three children each have tattoos on their ankles.

The father is the one who called police. We're told the kids went to his ex-wife's home after school. When he went to pick them up, he was in shock with what he saw.

Three kids, all under 13 years old, now have tattoos permanently imprinted on their ankles. Tattoo artist Kate Hellenbrand has been in the business for more than 40 years. She says there's a reason the law prohibits children from getting the art work done.

Well it's unethical, it's immoral. It's everything I can think of that is a travesty against empathy, against caring for a human, a child. I mean yea, it's everything that's important to me as an artist in this field," says Kate Hellenbrand, owner, Shanghai Kate's Tattoos.

Lago Vista Police say it was on Monday when the incident was reported. Court documents show that the three children arrived at their mother's home after school.

They called their father to pick them up and when he did, he saw that each had fresh tattoos on their ankles. One tattoo was of a cross, another of an infinity symbol with a cross and also a heart with an arrow.
The children reported to police that their mother, 31-year-old Ashley Weir, told them to get the tattoos but not to cry or whine about it when it hurts.

The brother of the mother's boyfriend is the one who reportedly did the artwork. We also learned he is a registered sex offender.


http://www.fox7austin.com/news/local-news/114473761-story