British Man charged in France for staging fake marriage with 9-year-old at Disneyland Paris

A British man was charged by French authorities on Tuesday after he was seen hosting a fake marriage with a 9-year-old Ukrainian girl at Disneyland Paris. According to the French prosecutors, the suspect whose identity is not yet made public, is a sex offender with past convictions, also wanted in the UK for breaking the terms of a previous conviction related to a sexual crime against a minor.

Early Saturday morning, the 39-year-old suspect was arrested after Disneyland staff were alerted by an actor who had been hired and paid 12,000 Euro to play the young bride’s father. Also reported by Meaux prosecutor Jean-Baptiste Bladier, the actor did not know the girl’s age until they arrived at the venue.

Details surrounding the fake marriage ceremony

The Ukrainian girl had just arrived in France 2 days before the entire fake marriage ceremony was held. Prosecutors reported that the young girl did not experience any physical or sexual abuse and was not forced to play the role of a bride. However, this entire case is being widely  condemned by the public.

Also, a woman who was hired to play the role of a guest gave her statement during an interview. She said that upon her arrival at Disneyland, “a little girl dressed in white with her hair all done up and I saw a woman who picked her up in her arms... and I was shocked, I burst into tears. When I saw child - it was horrific"

Notably, the man is reported to have spent over €130,000 for the event that had 100 plus extras and was to be a private affair. Also, the authorities reported that he had rented out a portion of Disneyland Paris out of park hours using a fake Latvian ID and also went to great lengths to do professional make up to disguise his identity.

Police Investigation

During the investigation, three other actors were also suspected to be part of this “mock ceremony”- at age 41 the mother of the child, a 24 year old Latvian woman who is the bride’s sister who appeared in court but is still only a witness, and a 55 year old Latvian man. As of now, only the British man is in custody who is convicted of fraud, breach of trust, money laundering, and identity theft. 

Moreover, Disneyland Paris reported to have fallen for a ruse during the booking process and is now cooperating with the police investigation. Also still unknown at this time is what the reason behind the in-depth mock ceremony is for as the investigation continues.