Who is responsible for the tattooing of a minor?

By Richard Parker

Shaolin Ameris Barr, 21, a tattoo artist that rents a space from a tattoo parlor in Springdale is being charged with misdemeanor counts of corruption of minors and illegal tattooing. The clients mother wrote a complaint to the the Pittsburgh Police Department about her daughter receiving a butterfly tattoo on her neck without her consent. 

Here’s where things get tricky to me. The shop owner has a policy of not tattooing minors without parental consent, and the tattoo artist stated that she was under the assumption that the client was of legal age. So who is technically at fault, the shop or the tattoo artist? Who’s responsibility is it to handle paperwork and check credentials? Now in this case the tattoo artist willingly confessed that she assumed the client was of age because they shared mutual friends, which just seems like negligence, but what if the scenario was different? What happens if the client uses fraudulent identification or written consent, or a shop manger that should be handling paperwork over looks a client or a date of birth. Would this then be a charge to the artist, client, the business, or all parties involved?