A 22-year-old British man was arrested at Disneyland Paris after he allegedly attempted to marry a 9-year-old girl in a faux wedding ceremony in front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle.
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According to the Daily Mail, the incident occurred on Saturday, June 21. According to reports, the event’s organizers had booked the Paris park for what was believed to be a genuine wedding.
However, things took a troubling turn. Disneyland Paris discovered that the “bride” was actually a child, later revealed to be 9 years old. The girl was wearing a bridal dress and even had heels taped to her feet, as per the outlet.
“I saw a child dressed in white, I saw curly hair and a woman lifting her in her arms,” a witness told BFM TV. “That’s when I was shocked, I burst into tears because I realized when I saw the child, it was atrocious.”
The bizarreness of the “wedding” didn’t stop there. Reportedly, all wedding “guests” were recruited from online adverts, which allegedly searched for 200 adults and 100 children to attend the wedding, as per BFM TV. They all met at 4 a.m. in Paris and were taken to the amusement park by a bus.
Fake Wedding, Stopped
As per the outlet, the event’s organizer, allegedly the British man, had assumed the identity of a Latvian national and even used “false documents” to privatize Disneyland Paris to carry out the fake wedding. He would later claim that he had allegedly organized the event to post it on social media.
As a result, four people were arrested: the 22-year-old man, presumed to be British, the child’s mother, 41, a Ukrainian woman, and two Latvian nationals, ages 55 and 24, as per the Meaux prosecutor’s office.
Reports reveal that the 55-year-old Latvian man had been recruited to play the part of the 9-year-old’s father. He was allegedly paid 12,000 euros, but he wasn’t aware of the “bride’s” age.
The Meux prosecutor’s office stated, as per Le Parisien, that the child had not been harmed.
“The investigations, including the medical examination of the minor, a Ukrainian national, revealed that she had not suffered any violence or coercive acts and that the event turned out to be a set-up, with the guests themselves being extras,” the prosecutor’s office said.
One witness present at the park revealed to Le Parisien that no one mentioned anything about filing the event.
“We all thought we were going to attend a wedding. Everyone was stunned, no one expected it,” the witness added.
The witness also commended Disneyland Paris for their swift action.
“They canceled everything as soon as they realized the bride was a child. We were shocked to see that,” the witness said.
According to The Sunday Times, the two Latvian nationals have since been released from custody. The British man and the Ukrainian mother, however, remain in custody over potential financial fraud.