A father is suing a Moriarty tattoo parlor for tattooing his daughter, who is under the age 18.

But the parlor's owner said he did the work before the state rules took effect requiring body artists tattooing minors to get their parents' consent.

Besides, he said, the girl had identification indicating she was 19.

The complaint on behalf of Alan Ebnother, a Santa Fe County artist, was filed in state District Court this week by lawyer Brian Egolf of Santa Fe, the newly elected state legislator.

The complaint alleges that Arthur Foust, owner-operator of Diabolical Ink, placed "the first of several tattoos" onto the girl's body on May 31, though she was a minor and did not have parental consent.

In addition, the "complaint for tortuous battery" says, tattooing the girl "caused a touching of her body without legal consent."

The complaint asks a judge to assess damages against Foust and Diabolical Ink. It says the cost of removing the tattoos is more than $75,000.

On April 7, Gov. Bill Richardson signed into law the Body Art Safe Practices Act, sponsored by state Rep. Rhonda King, D-Stanley, requiring "body artists" to be licensed by the state Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists. Previously, body artists were virtually unregulated in New Mexico.

Pursuant to the new law, the board promulgated rules that require body artists doing tattoos, body piercing or "scarification" on minors to get permission from their parents.

But Foust said the rules didn't go into effect until Nov. 1 — months after he tattooed the girl.

Foust said he asked her for identification and she produced an ID indicating she was 19 and close to turning 20.

"She was staying late. Tattoo parlors stay open until 2 or 3 a.m.," Foust said. "She started dating one of my friends who I was living with at the time."

After hearing from a convenience-store clerk who sells cigarettes that the girl was only 16 years old and that her ID was fake, Foust said he asked to see it again and she refused. At that point, he said, he refused to tattoo her more until she told her father. Foust said he never did hear from the father.

Foust said that when he tattooed the girl, he was working out of a studio next to his residence in Macintosh, N.M., and operating under the name First Shot Studios. He said he did not open the Moriarty parlor until late last year.

"We certainly did not maliciously tattoo a minor," he said. "This is our business and we deal with this kind of thing all the time. But when somebody comes in and produces what appears to us to be a valid ID, we have to assume we're dealing with an adult."

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.