Texas parents arrested for tattooing children, ages 5 and 9

A Texas couple was arrested Monday for tying down their two young children and tattooing them — before cutting their skin in a bid to remove the ink when authorities got involved, a report said.

The mother and stepfather, Megan and Gunner Farr of Zavalla, allegedly restrained their kids — ages 5 and 9 — with the rope, covered their mouths with tape and blindfolded them with a rag as they pressed the tattoo needle into their skin, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KTRE.

The pair tattooed the 5-year-old’s foot and the 9-year-old’s shoulder, police told the local outlet.

Once Child Protective Services (CPS) got involved, Megan, 27, and Gunner Farr, 23, reportedly cut, scraped and scrubbed the children’s skin with lemon juice to try to erase the tattoos, according to the affidavit.

“There were visible injuries on the child at the specific location of the tattoo and it appeared that the flesh was removed from the body at the tattoo location and this happened about the time that CPS got involved in the allegations of the child abuse,” interim Zavalla Police Chief Lt. James Denby told KTRE.

The children’s biological father and their stepmother had spotted the ink and questioned their mother about it, the outlet reported. When asked about the tattoos, Megan Farr laughed and drove off, he said.

The kids’ dad then called child services who began investigating and notified police on April 17, Denby said. The next day, CPS removed the 9- and 5-year-old as well as their two younger siblings and took the two kids involved to the hospital for treatment.

Police interviewed the children about the alleged abuse and recovered a tattoo kit during the course of their week-long investigation.

“Someone came forward and turned in a tattoo kit that she claimed was loaned to Gunner to perform tattoos. She didn’t know it was going to be performed on a child,” Denby said.

Zavalla police arrested both Megan and Gunner Farr Monday. Megan was charged with two counts of injury to a child and unlawful restraint and Gunner was charged with one count each of injury to a child and unlawful restraint. They are each being held on a bond amount totaling $35,000. according to KTRE.

The couple’s children are in CPS custody.