
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 5, 1992                   TAG: 9203050273
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BERRYVILLE                                LENGTH: Short

DOCTOR SAYS HE'LL TAKE OFF BOY'S TATTOO

A doctor has offered to remove a tattoo from a 7-year-old boy whose uncle and father held him down and tattooed the letters "B-I-L-L-Y" on his arm.

Dr. Joop Grevelink of the Dermatology Laser Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston wrote a newspaper offering to remove Billy Dennison's tattoo at no charge.

The boy's uncle, Jimmy Dennison, 23, was convicted last month of malicious wounding. The boy's father, Willie Dennison, 29, later pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful wounding. The brothers are to be sentenced April 7.

The jury recommended that Jimmy Dennison spend 12 months in jail and pay a $2,500 fine.

According to a plea agreement, which has not been approved by Circuit Judge James Berry, Willie Dennison would be sentenced to one year of a two-year prison term.

The plea agreement with Willie Dennison also would require him to pay for removal of the tattoo, but Clarke County Commonwealth's Attorney Geoffrey Cole said the money could be converted to another fund for the child if the procedure is performed at no charge.

Grevelink's head nurse, Donna Gabriel, said the procedure requires several monthly visits and normally costs $500 for the initial treatment and $250 for subsequent visits.

The operation to remove a tattoo feels like a rubber band snapping on the skin, but a local anesthetic may be applied, she said.

by CNB