Patrick Coe, of Byker, left the victims physically and mentally harmed by his cruel actions
Patrick Coe, jailed for child cruelty
Cruel Patrick Coe has been jailed and branded “staggeringly stupid” for permanently tattooing three young children. Coe left the youngsters damaged physically and emotionally by carrying out the “foolish” and “harmful” acts, a court heard.
The children reported to family members that the tattoos were painful and they were all taken for medical tests in case they had been infected with any diseases. Newcastle Crown Court heard they all had to have hepatitis B and tetanus injections as well as blood tests.
When confronted, Coe admitted what he had done and said he didn’t see anything wrong with it. The court heard he also “laughed and joked” about it and “found the whole situation hilarious”.
One of the victims described the pain as being seven out of ten and they suffered a minor infection along with swelling and pain. They said the “after care” amounted to the tattoo site being wiped with a baby wipe.
That victim was left feeling anxious afterwards, struggled to come to terms with what happened and has been receiving therapy.
A second victim said they were told the tattoo was temporary and would come off. They were caused slight pain and were left itchy at school. They needed multiple injections and blood tests, which caused “significant anxiety and distress”. They said they “hate” the tattoo and are likely to require therapy.
A third victim was left “upset and scared”, suffering sleeping problems, needing therapy and feeling significantly anxious as a result of the medical treatment.
Judge Sarah Mallett told him: “The children didn’t choose to have a permanent tattoo. They were put at risk by you giving them tattoos. They are visibly marked with a permanent reminder of you and this.
“This was a staggeringly stupid and foolish thing to do and also a very harmful thing to do.”
Coe, 31, of Grafton House, Byker, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to three counts of child cruelty and was jailed for three years and given a ten year restraining order.
Brian Hegarty, defending, said: “It’s quite staggering and defies belief he could be so foolish.” Mr Hegarty said Coe did not intend to cause the victims pain and is remorseful.
He added: “He does now appreciate what he did was incredibly stupid and should not have happened.”
Did you know you can make ChronicleLive a preferred source of North East news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here.
We have a dedicated newsletter for court news and crime updates. It’s free and you can sign up to receive it here. It will keep you up to date with all the latest court cases and sentence updates from around the North East.