Man charged with allegedly tattooing minor

An east Yuma County man has been charged with two felonies over allegedly giving a 14-year-old girl a tattoo.

A criminal complaint was filed Tuesday against Phillip Wayne Orsbon, 26, of Wellton, charging him with two counts of unlawful tattooing, both of which are Class 6 felonies.

Orsbon, who is not employed as a tattoo artist, was arraigned in Wellton Justice Court before Justice of the Peace Cora Romine, who ordered his bond remain at $1,859.

Romine also scheduled Orsbon's next court appearance, a preliminary hearing, for Monday at 8 a.m. at Yuma Justice Court.

Orsbon allegedly inked a spiderweb tattoo on the girl in his Wellton home.

It is not known if Orsbon is a licensed to tattoo artist in Florida, where he lived until moving recently to Wellton. In Arizona it is illegal to tattoo anyone under the age of 18 without the presence and consent of a parent or legal guardian.

Roger Nelson, chief criminal deputy county attorney, explained that one of the felonies was for performing the tattoo and the other was doing it at his home instead of a licensed studio.

Orsbon was arrested Sunday and made his initial appearance in the jail's courtroom later that same day.

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James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.