A mum and her tattoo artist friend were arrested by police after allegedly giving a 12-year-old girl a tattoo saying 'Jesus loves'.

The girl’s mother, 35-year-old Emma Nolan, and the suspected tattoo artist, identified as Brenda Gaddy, were charged with tattooing the body of a person under age 18, according to WTVM news.

The tattoo was spotted by the girl's teacher who immediately alerted the authorities.

The teacher described the tattoo as “bluish green with Jesus written above the cross and loves written below,” according to WTVM.

A police officer from the area in Georgia, Jason Fetner, said that the incident is due to "bad parenting".

“I think it’s unfortunate in that the child actually wanted to get the tattoo,” said Fetner. “It’s not like the child was forced to get the tattoo, I think it just comes down to bad parenting.”

Online Editors