A 31-year-old Newcastle man has been sentenced to three years in prison for permanently tattooing three young children, believing the inkings were temporary. Patrick Coe used his own home tattoo kit on the children, leaving them in pain and permanently marked.

Judge Sarah Mallett called Coe's actions "staggeringly stupid" during sentencing at Newcastle Crown Court. The children were sent to hospital for medical tests to detect possible infections and received preventative antibiotics for hepatitis B and tetanus. One victim suffered a minor infection and is currently receiving therapy following the traumatic incident.

When confronted about the tattoos, Coe initially claimed he "didn't see anything wrong" with what he had done. His attorney, Brian Hegarty, stated that Coe didn't intend to cause the victims pain and now appreciates his actions were "incredibly stupid." The judge emphasized that the children didn't choose to have permanent tattoos and are visibly marked with a permanent reminder of the incident.