Tattoo Bullies Busted

MAY 20--A 14-year-old New Hampshire boy was tattooed against his will by a group of fellow high school students who told the victim that they would no longer pick on him if he agreed to the inking.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, on May 10 the teenager was enticed to a Concord home, where the words "Poop Dick" and a drawing of a penis were tattooed across his buttocks. The boy told investigators that one of his assailants warned that "he was going to get the tattoo whether he liked it or not," and that "he would not be picked on anymore if he got it done."

When the boy asked what would happen if he tried to flee, he was told that he would be caught and beaten up, police reported. The victim, a ninth grader at Concord High School, suffers from "learning disabilities and self-esteem issues" and has been "frequently targeted for ridicule by upper classmen," investigators noted.

A probe of the bullying incident led to the seizure of the tattoo equipment used on the boy, and the bust of four of the victim's assailants, who have been charged with a variety of crimes, including assault, endangering the welfare of a minor, criminal threatening, and tattooing without a license.

As seen in the mug shots here, police have arrested (clockwise from upper left) Donald Wyman, 20; Ryan Fisk, 19; Travis Johnston, 18; and Blake VanNest, 18. A fifth attacker, who is 15, is also expected to be charged. Three of the defendants attend the same school as the victim, while Fisk formerly attended the Concord school.

None of the arrestees actually knew the victim's name, referring to him in police interviews as "Poop Dick" or "Spiderman," a nickname he was given after he once wore a Spiderman hat to school. (5 pages)