Man sentenced to prison in penis tattoo case

IPSWICH, Australia, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- An Australian man was sentenced to a year in prison for helping a tattoo artist trick a "significantly disabled" man into having a penis tattooed on his back.

Christopher William Lord, 23, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, with a parole release date of March 12, in Ipswich District Court after he pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and in company, the Queensland Times reported Tuesday.

The court heard Lord and Matthew Francis Brady, 24, were drinking with a third man Oct. 18, 2010, and accused him of raping a girl, which the victim denied.

Brady and Lord convinced the man to allow Brady to give him a large back tattoo of a yin-yang symbol and a dragon, but he actually tattooed a penis, testicles and an obscene phrase on the man's back.

The victim, who is on a disability pension, asked the men to stop during the process, but they continued until the tattoo was completed.

The court heard the man again accused the victim of rape after the tattoo was finished and Brady assaulted him physically.

"It was a miserable offense," Judge Greg Koppenol said during sentencing. "You acted miserably toward a vulnerable young man with a significant disability."

The victim's disability was not specified. His tattoo was covered up by an artist who donated his services, the Times said.