A British man has been charged after he reportedly organised a “mock wedding” in Disneyland Paris involving a nine-year-old girl in the role of the bride.
French prosecutors have said the 39-year-old man, who reportedly played the “groom” in the fake ceremony, faces several counts of fraud, abuse of trust, money laundering and identity theft.
Police were called by a “guest” who later claimed he was hired to play the father of the bride at the entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, on Saturday.
A statement released by the prosecutor of the tribunal in Meaux Jean-Baptiste Bladier said the man “explained he was paid 12,000 euros to play the role of the father of the bride and realised at the last minute that she was nine years old.”
The prosecutor added that the girl is a Ukrainian national who had arrived in France with her 41-year-old mother two days prior to the mock ceremony.
Four people were arrested on Saturday – including the British “groom”, the girl’s mother, a 24-year-old Latvian woman who played the sister of the bride, and the 55-year-old Latvian man hired to play the “father of the bride”, the tribunal said.
Prosecutors added Disneyland Paris was “deceived” after the identity of a Latvian man and fake identification documents were used to secure the private event at the park, and that about a hundred hired extras were falsely presented to the company as wedding guests.
The British man appeared before the tribunal of Meaux on Monday, after which he was charged.
French prosecutors said on Tuesday they have been in touch with British authorities and identified the British suspect as a convicted sexual offender who is wanted in the UK.
Mr Bladier wrote in a statement: “(He) was reportedly convicted in the past, including for offences of a sexual nature against minors.
“He is, as such, 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.”
Mr Bladier said in a previous statement published on Sunday that the wedding ceremony was “fictional and meant to be recorded in a private capacity”.
Preliminary findings also stated the “groom” had allegedly been “made-up professionally so that his face appeared totally different from his own”, according to the prosecutor.
The 24-year-old Latvian woman currently remains a witness in the investigation, the prosecutor said.
Disneyland Paris has been approached for comment.
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