British Man Charged for Arranging 'Mock Wedding' of Nine-Year-Old at Disneyland Paris

A British man has been charged in connection with organizing the 'mock wedding' of a nine-year-old Ukrainian girl in Disneyland Paris. The man said he had been paid €12,000 to play the role and only realized at the last minute that the 'bride' was a child, according to a statement by Meaux prosecutor Jean-Baptiste Bladier. He was arrested when police were called to the amusement park on Saturday morning by a 'guest' who said he had been hired by the man to play the father of the bride. French prosecutors said the 39-year-old man was a convicted sexual offender wanted in the UK. His name has not been made public.

The Ukrainian girl, who arrived in France two days earlier, had not been a victim of physical or sexual violence and had not been 'forced to play the role' of bride, as per the statement. Around 100 French extras had been recruited to take part in the fake ceremony, which was to be filmed privately. The British man had reportedly hired Disneyland Paris for several hours for the stunt, in which he was to play the role of the groom. Three other people, including the mother of the girl, a Latvian woman, and a Latvian man, were also arrested. By Tuesday, only the British man was still being held by police.

The British man and the Latvian woman appeared in front of a judge in Meaux on 23 June. The man was charged with fraud, breach of trust, money laundering, and identity theft and placed in pretrial detention. The Latvian remains a witness in the investigation. The prosecutor's statement mentioned that Disneyland Paris had been 'deceived' and that the organizer had used a fake Latvian ID to hire the venue. It is reported that the 'mock wedding' may have cost the organizer more than €130,000 (£110,000).

Mr. Bladier's statement revealed that the British man 'was reportedly convicted in the past, including for offenses of a sexual nature against minors. He is listed in the British database of sexual offenders and is currently wanted nationally by the judicial authorities of his country of origin due to a breach of the requirements deriving from said order.' The investigation continues.

According to the source: BBC.