A 22-year-old British man has been arrested after reportedly attempting to stage a fake wedding ceremony with a nine-year-old Ukrainian girl at Disneyland Paris.
According to the theme park, a section of the venue had been privately reserved for the event early Saturday morning (21 June), just before the park opened its doors to the general public.
Things took a serious turn when park staff noticed that the “bride,” who was wearing a wedding gown, appeared to be a child. That’s when the police were contacted and stepped in.
Authorities took four individuals into custody, including the 22-year-old British man, who was allegedly dressed as the groom during the event.
The mother of the girl, a 41-year-old woman, was also arrested. Two other individuals are being questioned in connection with suspected fraud and possible money laundering related to the incident.
Reports from France Bleu suggest the British man was the one behind organizing the entire setup. He allegedly used a casting agency to hire nearly 80 extras for what was described as a rehearsal for a staged ceremony.
Four people were taken into police custody following the incident at Disneyland ParisPascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
In a translated statement, Disneyland Paris said it acted immediately after discovering serious irregularities related to a private booking at the resort.
The park noted that law enforcement was contacted right away and responded on site without delay.
Disneyland added that it has officially filed a complaint with the appropriate authorities and is fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
A British man has been arrested after allegedly trying to take part in the mock weddingFrancois G. Durand/WireImage
Assistant prosecutor Alexandre Verney, from the Seine-et-Marne department, gave the following statement: “Four people were arrested and questioned: the groom, who was believed to be the organiser of the event and is presumed to be British and aged 22; the mother of the child, a 41-year-old Ukrainian woman; and two Latvian nationals aged 55 and 24.”
“It wasn’t a wedding but a staged wedding that was to be filmed with a hundred extras.”
“They had privately hired Disneyland, claiming that it was a real marriage.”
A witness who spoke with French publication Le Parisien said: “We were not told at any time that it was about a film shoot.”
“We all thought we were going to be part of a wedding.”
“Everyone was stunned. No one expected this.”
“Disneyland does things very well.”
“They immediately cancelled when they understood that the bride was a kid.”
“We were sickened by that.”
One of the extras later claimed they spotted what looked like a very small child dressed as a bride. The child, they said, appeared unusually tiny for a wedding scenario.
According to the extra, they saw a woman lift the girl into her arms, and shortly afterward, law enforcement stepped in to break up the event and take over the situation.