In a bizarre and disturbing scene, a man has been arrested after allegedly trying to marry a 9-year-old Ukrainian child at Disneyland in Paris.
The French amusement park staff were left stunned and horrified on Saturday (June 21) after realizing what was happening between the adult man and the child.
Part of the Disneyland Paris amusement park had been privately hired for the fake ‘ceremony’ ahead of it being open to the public and reportedly unfolded in front of the iconic Sleeping Beauty castle alongside an estimated 100 guests.
Dozens of extras had been hired to take part in what assistant prosecutor for the Seine-et-Marne department, Alexandre Verney, has described as a ‘staged wedding’.
The man was identified as a British national, but there have been conflicting reports regarding the man’s age.
The wedding caused concern when people realized the bride was a child(Getty Stock Image)
The park confirmed that police were quickly alerted and intervened when it was realized what was happening. They have also said they are cooperating fully with the authorities and the investigation.
Days after his arrest, on June 24, the man was charged with numerous offences including fraud, breach of trust, money laundering and identity theft, the Meaux prosecutor’s office announced.
According to a New York Post report, the entire incident was part of a $150,000 social media stunt, with extras hired as wedding guests.
“We all thought we were going to attend a wedding… Everyone was stunned, no one expected it,” one of them even told French outlet Le Parisien.
“Disneyland did things very well. They canceled everything as soon as they realized the bride was a child. We were shocked to see that.”
Regardless, the would-be groom, as well as the child’s mother who was also in attendance, were arrested alongside a few other individuals.
The would-be groom is also reportedly a known pedophile on the run from UK authorities, according to French prosecutors.
A statement from prosecutor Jean-Baptiste Bladier explained the details surrounding the suspect.
The would beg groom as well as others have been arrested(Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
It explained: “He is registered on the British sex offenders register and is currently wanted at the national level by the judicial authorities of his country of origin, for failing to comply with the obligations arising from said registration.”
Prosecutors have said that they believe both Disneyland Paris and the estimated 100 people who were attending as extras were duped into the scandal.
They added that the event was ‘falsely presented’ to the theme park and caused confusion and concern.
The statement continued: Tthe organiser misrepresented himself as a Latvian national and used false documents to obtain the contract for the privatisation of the park.”
The young girl had arrived in France only two days before the ceremony and police have said they do not believe the child suffered ‘any violence, neither physical nor sexual’.
Disneyland Paris said in a statement that the payment for the event was ‘immediately cancelled’ soon after ‘significant irregularities were identified’, according to the Telegraph.
