A PRISONER tied up his cellmate and blindfolded him before forcibly giving him a permanent tattoo. Nicky Tyree, 19, used a makeshift implement to scar his 18-year-old cellmate for life by carving "I'm a victim" into his arm at Hull Prison.
The terrified teenager had to wait until the cell doors opened the next day in order to get help. His ordeal had lasted 40 minutes as Tyree used a doctored pen with ink in it to inflict the tattoo.
Prosecutor Jharna Jobes told Hull Crown Court: "After lights out, Tyree tied him up. He tied his hands to the top of the bed and his legs to the bottom using torn-up bed sheets.
"He started to tattoo 'I'm a victim' on his arm. It is a rough tattoo and took about 40 minutes and during that time the defendant would stop and start punching the complainant. He also blindfolded him.
"He showed him a mirror and he could see his face was swollen and bloody.
"It was not until the following morning that the complainant managed to get the attention of prison officers and was taken to the infirmary."
Tyree has now pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
He is serving a four-year sentence for supplying heroin and for having cocaine and heroin in his cell.
His cellmate was serving a sentence for harassment.
Recorder Anthony Hawks sentenced Tyree to 18-month imprisonment, consecutive to his drugs sentence.
He told him: "You behaved in this bullying way. You tied that man up, you punched him and there was an unpleasant point where you put a tattoo on his arm.
"It was a shocking piece of behaviour."
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