Parents Arrested for Tattooing Own Children

What do you think?  Should it be considered child cruelty if parents tattoo their kids?  Check this out from KTLA News:

Parents Arrested for Home-Tattooing 6 Children


Chattooga County, GA -- A mother and father in Georgia have been charged with child cruelty after authorities say they discovered six of the seven children in their custody were tattooed with a home-made device.

Sheriff John Everett says the children, a 10-year-old, two 11-year-olds, a 12-year-old, a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old were tattooed with a black cross on their hand.

Out of the seven children, only the youngest child did not get a tattoo.

Patty Jo Marsh and her husband, Jacob Bartels, did the tattoos in their Summerville home.  They cleaned up a tattoo machine someone gave them, and used guitar strings as a needle.

Georgia law prohibits tattoos from anyone other than a licensed professional.  Children under 18 are also prohibited from getting tattoos.

The sheriff says the couple is free on bond and are expected in court to answer the charges.  A court date has not been scheduled yet. 

I wonder if authorities would view the tattooing differently if the parents had taken their kids to a tattoo parlor and had the tattoos done professionally?  The article mentions that Georgia law prohibits anyone under 18 from getting a tattoo, but what if there is parental consent, such as with ear piercing?