Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1750757583301soyoung-han-hf4h4o3g2C0-unsplash.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Soyoung Han, Unsplash</div>France charged a British citizen with offenses including money-laundering and identity theft after he allegedly organized a bizarre ceremony at Disneyland Paris where he played the role of the groom in a fake marriage with a nine-year-old girl, prosecutors said Tuesday.He is suspected of hiring the theme park before it opened to the public on Saturday for the staged wedding event, in a contract worth 130,000 euros.The man, who has not been named but has a criminal record in the UK for sexual assault offenses, has in addition to his charges also been named as an assisted witness -- a step before being indicted -- in a probe into suspected corruption of a minor, prosecutors said.The incident initially caused grave alarm when staff alerted police that it could have concerned an illegal child marriage, with the purported &quot;bride&quot; a nine-year-old Ukrainian girl.It later turned out to have been entirely staged but authorities immediately launched an investigation.The British man played &quot;the role of the groom after being professionally made up to display a face completely different from his own&quot;, the prosector for the Meaux region Jean-Baptiste Bladier told AFP.French judicial authorities were informed by their British counterparts that the man &quot;has been convicted in the past, notably for sexual offenses against minors&quot;, he added on Tuesday.The man is currently <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/6/23/french-police-probe-fake-disneyland-marriage-with-nine-year-old-1221">wanted by British authorities</a> for failing to comply with his obligations as a registered sex offender.<div> </div><div>&#x27;SIGNIFICANT IRREGULARITIES&#x27;</div><div> </div>The authorities have designated a 24-year-old Latvian who played the role of the bride&#x27;s sister at the event as an assisted witness.The prosecutor said investigations showed the &quot;marriage&quot; was in fact &quot;a fictitious ceremony intended to be filmed privately&quot;.The Briton is suspected of &quot;recruiting, with the help of a Latvian citizen, other Latvian nationals to ensure the smooth running of the event, as well as around 100 French extras, who were falsely presented to Disneyland Paris as wedding guests&quot;, the prosecutor said.The Ukrainian child, who arrived in France two days before the event, suffered &quot;no violence, either physical or sexual&quot; and &quot;was not forced to play the role&quot; of bride, the prosecutor had said at the weekend.According to the prosecutor, Disneyland Paris was deceived, with &quot;the organiser impersonating a Latvian national and using false documents to secure the contract to hire the park&quot;.The event was scheduled to take place between 5:00 am and 7:00 am local time, outside public opening hours, on the privatized premises &quot;at a total cost of 130,000 euros&quot;, according to a police source who asked not to be named.But Disneyland Paris emphasized in a statement sent to AFP on Sunday that the event had been &quot;immediately cancelled&quot; by its teams &quot;after the identification of significant irregularities.&quot;

France charged a British citizen with offences including money-laundering and identity theft after he allegedly organised a bizarre ceremony at Disneyland Paris where he played the role of the groom in a fake marriage with a nine-year-old girl, prosecutors said Tuesday.

France charged a British citizen with offences including money-laundering and identity theft after he allegedly organised a bizarre ceremony at Disneyland Paris where he played the role of the groom in a fake marriage with a nine-year-old girl, prosecutors said Tuesday.

France charges Briton over staged Disneyland 'marriage' with child

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France charges Briton over staged Disneyland 'marriage' with child

Agence France-Presse

Published Jun 24, 2025 05:35 PM PHT

Read More:

Disneyland Paris

France

crime

marriage

child bride

chid marriage

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