An unlicensed tattoo artist has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence after illegally inking a 13-year-old girl.
According to the Portsmouth News, Rowsell tattooed the misspelt word “belleve” on the girl’s neck, instead of "believe".
Portsmouth city council said the girl agreed to go to Rowsell's house for the inking after seeing a post on Facebook. She had originally told her mother she would wait till she was older to get a tattoo.
According to the BBC, she told council staff Rowsell's work looked "awful".
The Daily Echo reported she had to undergo HIV and hepatitis tests following the inking. She has now been given the all clear.
The paper quoted the girl as saying: ''I'm very upset about what has happened, partly because the tattoo is awful but mainly because of the worry it has caused all my family. I am really scared that I may have caught something from a dirty needle.''
She told the Portsmouth News she now wears her hair down all the time to cover up the tattoo.
Portsmouth city council brought the prosecution against Rowsell after a tip-off from a registered tattoo artist.
Rowsell admitted causing actual bodily harm, tattooing a child, and tattooing on unlicensed premises.
At Portsmouth crown court he was handed an eight-month suspended jail sentence and ordered to do 120 hours of community service and pay the girl £300.
The girl’s mother was quoted by the Portsmouth News as saying:
Our entire family has been devastated by this.
My initial reaction was one of utter disbelief. Her sister took one look at it and stormed off. Her dad just wanted to kill him.
It's not spelled right, it's smudged, it's absolutely awful.
She added: “Children make mistakes. Adults are supposed to take responsibility. He took our power away completely and now our daughter is scarred for life for £20."
"What he has done is absolutely disgusting. It caused mayhem in our home."