22-Year-Old Arrested After Hosting Fake Wedding With 9-Year-Old Girl At Disneyland
Last Updated:
The event took place in front of the famous Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland Paris and included musicians, a cake and many guests.
A 22-year-old man from Britain was arrested after police found he was planning a fake wedding with a 9-year-old girl at Disneyland Paris. The park staff got worried and informed the police when they saw that the bride looked very young. When questioned, the man said the wedding was not real and was just for a social media video. The event took place in front of the famous Sleeping Beauty castle and included musicians, a cake and many guests. The park was rented for the event before it opened to visitors, but officials claim that they did not know that the party involved a child.
According to local news channel BFM TV, the wedding ad was shared on several websites. Around 200 adults and 100 children, between the ages of five and 15, were invited to take part in the wedding rehearsal. The organisers told everyone that filming wasn't allowed. The event was planned to start at 4 AM and buses brought the participants to the park. Once everyone arrived and filming began, things looked normal at first. But around 6 AM, a staff member intervened after noticing something wasn't right and told everyone to leave.
A witness recalled, 'I saw a child dressed in white, I saw curly hair and a woman lifting her in her arms. That's when I was shocked, I burst into tears because I realised when I saw the child, it was atrocious."
Another witness told Le Parisien, 'At no point was there any talk of filming. We all thought we were going to attend a wedding… Everyone was stunned, no one expected it. Disneyland did things very well. They cancelled everything as soon as they realised the bride was a child. We were shocked to see that."
Following the complaint, police reached the location and arrested four people. This included the man believed to be the groom. They also took in the girl's mother, a 41-year-old woman from Ukraine and two other people from Latvia, aged 55 and 24.
After the initial investigation, including a medical checkup of the girl, who is also from Ukraine, officials found that she was not harmed or forced into anything. Two of the arrested people will remain in custody for further investigation related to fraud and money laundering.
First Published:
June 24, 2025, 14:21 IST
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
Joy division: How Kanika Goyal is making fashion fun again
Kanika Goyal says she wishes she wasn't so ambitious. She doesn't mean it. That her business is booming is evident from the incessant activity at her four-floor studio in Faridabad. There are craftspeople working on sequinned Mickey Mouse figures for grungy T-shirts and shirt dresses. Master tailors are cutting sheaths of denim to artistically attach to the softest Chinese cotton for her signature hybrid pants. Embroiderers and patchwork experts are bringing to life playful collages. Stockkeepers are overseeing mounds of fabric that will be stashed away to be recycled creatively later. Goyal's ambition is everywhere. Kanika Goyal showcased at London Fashion Week and launched a line with Disney. (SHOT BY RAJ K RAJ) In the fashion world, Goyal is everywhere too. The 35-year-old designer is prolific, even among her Millennial peers who are creating looks for the red carpet and real life. In the last year alone, Goyal has showed her collection at London Fashion Week – presenting creased taffeta shirts, and accessories made from surplus leather, laminated crushed leather and cracked bonded taffeta. She's had a special fashion showcase in her hometown of Chandigarh, and did a themed look-book with the art collective Excise Dept, inspired by her roots in rural Punjab. She's also dropped a line of 114 pieces with Disney, which draws on her memories of watching animated classics and visiting Disneyland in Paris as a 10-year-old. The skirts, dresses and shirts feature hand embroidery and sequinned lungi checks; the denims bear endless loops of Mickey Mouse ears. It's aimed at the grown-up who prefers nostalgia with a bit of edge. Team Kanika Goyal is now 90 members strong. And her empire spans her OG eponymous label of kitschy couture (Kanika Goyal Label or KGL), an affordable casual chic line (Kilogram), collabs, as well as plans of expansion into home décor and product design. It may seem like a lot. But Goyal is more driven and hard-working than most. And she's manifested it all, she says. Bursting at the seams Goyal's designs are about finding joy in the ordinary. She backs it up with impeccable tailoring. (INSTAGRAM/@KANIKAGOYALLABEL) Goyal says she was artistic, but had an entrepreneurial streak even as a young girl in Chandigarh. Her mother encouraged her to pursue a career in fashion. But NIFT Delhi was as far from the homestead as her father was willing to let her move. She missed out on the coveted rankings for the course in fashion design, so she studied space and lifestyle accessories instead. Goyal made it work, co-founding the accessories brand Yelo in 2009 at 20, creating bags and key-chains that cost between ₹ 1,500 and ₹ 5,500. It retailed nationwide and was a hit with young women who wanted stylish looks they could afford. She was still a student. She'd tasted success. She wanted more. 'That's when I decided to go to Parsons School of Design in New York to pursue Fashion Design,' she says. Most Indian students struggle with coursework, and a side hustle to pay the rent. Goyal did all that and landed 14 internships, working with big brands such as Prada and Marchesa, and a long-term gig with renowned Odisha-born fashion designer Bibhu Mohapatra in the early 2010s. 'He wanted me to stay on, but I knew I had to return to India to start my own label,' she recalls. 'It was now or never.' Bold measures Goyal started out in 2015 with a 500 sq ft store in Delhi's Shahpur Jat 'above a halwai's shop'. So, she started out in 2015 with a small store in Delhi's Shahpur Jat 'above a halwai's shop', determined to put out youthful, free-spirited fashion that captured the moment. The T-shirts screamed with slogans: As If; That's So Rad; Super Weird. The designs were edgy and surrealist. 'We would totally be cancelled for making those statements now!' Celebrities came calling. Actors Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh and sportsmen such as Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya have championed Goyal's work through its many avatars. And unlike one-hit wonders, Goyal went back to the studio and kept refining her subversive-but-make-it-fashion formula. She held on to the idea of playfulness and finding joy in the ordinary, but backed it up with impeccable tailoring, colour-blocked fits and deconstructed pieces. 'We've now found a balance by keeping our childlike sensibility in place but introducing maturity into our clothes'. It's what got international celebrities interested too. Singer Jacob Collier has worn the Goyal label (mismatched electric brights, no less). Gen Z's favourite singer-songwriter Tyla has sported her denim-cotton hybrid co-ord sets. Halle Bailey (yes, The Little Mermaid) has rocked her high-slit jeans. Kelly Rowland, almost twice Bailey's age, has looked chic in Goyal's denim trench and matching pants. Fits of genius Goyal's recent work includes sweaters that scream Chardi Kala (a call for being positive) (INSTAGRAM/@KANIKAGOYALLABEL) Goyal's most recent work has included chunky knit sweaters bearing Punjabi epithets such as Chardi Kala (a call for being positive) and Balle (joy) in Gurmukhi. Her September 2020 capsule collection, a nod to a nation in lockdown, was titled It's OK to Put on a Few KGs, and consisted of oversized T-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts. Her collection for New York Fashion Week in 2023, Agrestal Mind, put crazy prints on sweaters and sequinned minidresses, 'something you could wear to a rave party'. And all over Instagram, influencers have cheered her recent collection, Playfield. The line celebrates movement, imperfection and unhindered ideas: Tie-dye effect jeans, lightweight printed silk jackets, patchwork leather trench coats. It's somehow hyperlocal and international at the same time. 'Fortunately, the Indian market has evolved,' Goyal says. 'Indians would never pay ₹ 25,000 for a pair of jeans, now they do. My clients range in age from 20s to their 60s and 70s.' Everyone likes a bit of edge, it seems. Which can take its toll on a creative mind. 'I'm quite critical of myself, and the self-analysis can lead to frustration. So, I've read self-help books to develop discipline,' Goyal says. 'And I've struggled to reconcile my desire to be empathetic with my selfish interests to excel at work. So, I actively prioritise empathy.' She also still maintains a gratitude journal which she started in the pandemic when she was struggling to keep her business and her team of 20 afloat. It didn't just pull her out of a lull, it got her to focus on the small wins, and grow her brand. 'When I was younger and brimming with ideas, I had zero doubt that I would make it. That's the feeling I like to channel now too. There shouldn't be any doubt about your creativity. You have to believe in it wholeheartedly. You have to know this collection is a hit and it will be. If you have this level of clarity at the start, that's half the job done.' From HT Brunch, June 28, 2025 Follow us on
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
South Asian-origin Brit named as man arrested at Disneyland Paris for mock wedding to 9-year-old
(Photo credit: Metropolitan Police) LONDON: A South Asian-origin British national called Jacky Jhaj has been named by UK media as the man arrested in Disneyland Paris last weekend for organising a mock wedding to a 9-year-old Ukrainian girl. Jaskarn, or Jacky Jhaj (39), was arrested last Saturday at the theme park when a 55-year-old actor who had been paid €12,000 to play the role of the father of the bride contacted police when he realised the bride was a child and she turned up looking 'scared and confused'. Jhaj is a convicted paedophile in Britain. He was jailed in 2016 for sexual activity with two 15-year-old girls and placed on the UK sex offenders register. Around 100 children and 200 adults had been paid to take part in the fake ceremony at the Sleeping Beauty castle. The mock wedding was to feature violinists, a cake, and chairs were laid out. TOI understands the plan was to create a video for social media. Jhaj had hired Disneyland Paris for several hours before it opened for the stunt, costing £110,000, allegedly using fake Latvian ID. He was going to play the role of groom to the child bride who could not walk in her bridal dress and heels and had to be carried. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like กำลังเทรดสกุลเงิน THB หรือ USD อยู่หรือเปล่า? IC Markets สมัคร Undo The 41-year-old Ukrainian mother of the girl, a 24-year-old Latvian woman who was to play the bride's sister, and the 55-year-old Latvian man acting as the groom were also arrested and have since been released. Jhaj appeared in front of a judge in Meaux, north-east Paris, on June 23 and was charged with fraud, breach of trust, money laundering, and identity theft. He remains in custody. He is a serial prankster behind scores of similar weird stunts. He hired hundreds of teenagers and children, some as young as six, to act as his fawning fans at a fake red carpet film premiere in Leicester Square in 2023 at which he pretended to be a film star, and last year he organised a fake funeral at London Oratory with a horse-drawn carriage and empty coffin, hiring extras as mourners. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: 'A 39-year-old man is wanted by the Met Police for breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a breach of a Sex Offenders' Register notification requirement. We are aware the man has been arrested in France for other matters and officers are in contact with the French authorities.'
News18
3 days ago
- News18
22-Year-Old Arrested After Hosting Fake Wedding With 9-Year-Old Girl At Disneyland
Last Updated: The event took place in front of the famous Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland Paris and included musicians, a cake and many guests. A 22-year-old man from Britain was arrested after police found he was planning a fake wedding with a 9-year-old girl at Disneyland Paris. The park staff got worried and informed the police when they saw that the bride looked very young. When questioned, the man said the wedding was not real and was just for a social media video. The event took place in front of the famous Sleeping Beauty castle and included musicians, a cake and many guests. The park was rented for the event before it opened to visitors, but officials claim that they did not know that the party involved a child. According to local news channel BFM TV, the wedding ad was shared on several websites. Around 200 adults and 100 children, between the ages of five and 15, were invited to take part in the wedding rehearsal. The organisers told everyone that filming wasn't allowed. The event was planned to start at 4 AM and buses brought the participants to the park. Once everyone arrived and filming began, things looked normal at first. But around 6 AM, a staff member intervened after noticing something wasn't right and told everyone to leave. A witness recalled, 'I saw a child dressed in white, I saw curly hair and a woman lifting her in her arms. That's when I was shocked, I burst into tears because I realised when I saw the child, it was atrocious." Another witness told Le Parisien, 'At no point was there any talk of filming. We all thought we were going to attend a wedding… Everyone was stunned, no one expected it. Disneyland did things very well. They cancelled everything as soon as they realised the bride was a child. We were shocked to see that." Following the complaint, police reached the location and arrested four people. This included the man believed to be the groom. They also took in the girl's mother, a 41-year-old woman from Ukraine and two other people from Latvia, aged 55 and 24. After the initial investigation, including a medical checkup of the girl, who is also from Ukraine, officials found that she was not harmed or forced into anything. Two of the arrested people will remain in custody for further investigation related to fraud and money laundering. First Published: June 24, 2025, 14:21 IST
