Texas Parents Admit to Forcing Young Children to Get Tattoos and Attempting to Remove Them with Lemon Juice

A Texas couple accused of restraining and tattooing two young children plead guilty after attempting to remove the ink with scraping and lemon juice.

Zavalla, Texas — Two parents in East Texas have pleaded guilty to deeply disturbing charges involving the abuse of two young children who were forcibly tattooed in their own home.

Megan Farr, 29, and her husband Gunnar Farr, 25, both entered guilty pleas in Angelina County court after being accused of tying up Megan’s children—who were just 5 and 9 years old at the time—and tattooing them.

The abuse came to light in April 2023 after the children’s biological father noticed the tattoos on his children’s bodies and alerted Child Protective Services. According to the arrest affidavit, the children revealed they had been tied up with rope, blindfolded, gagged, and forcibly tattooed by their mother and stepfather.

The couple, investigators said, later attempted to erase their actions by trying to remove the tattoos themselves. They allegedly scraped the children’s skin raw and scrubbed the tattooed areas with lemon juice in a failed attempt to eliminate the evidence.

Zavalla Police reported that the incident occurred while the couple's friends were at home. Former Interim Police Chief James Denby described the aftermath of the tattooing as traumatic. “ITheflesh appeared removed from the body at the tattoo’s location. And this happened at the time CPS became involved,” Denby told the local outlet KTRE.

According to the affidavit, Megan Farr even laughed about the situation when she confessed the tattooing to her ex-husband, the children's father. Gunnar Farr also spoke with the father, claiming that the tattoos had been made with a staple.

Both were arrested on April 24, 2023, and charged with unlawful restraint and injury to a child. They posted bond following their arrest.

Gunnar Farr pleaded guilty on March 19 and received a two-year sentence for unlawful restraint and five-year sentences for each of the four bodily injury charges, all to be served concurrently.

Megan Farr pleaded guilty to a single charge of injury to a child and is awaiting her sentencing.

Child advocates and local authorities continue to emphasize the importance of reporting suspected child abuse. The children in this case are now in safer conditions, but the emotional and physical trauma they endured is long-lasting.

This case has sparked outrage across the community and raised renewed concerns about the need for better child welfare monitoring and accountability.