Latest news with #AlexandreVerney
Wales Online
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
British man arrested at Disneyland Paris after 'wedding' with girl aged nine
British man arrested at Disneyland Paris after 'wedding' with girl aged nine The 'wedding' was witnessed by huge crowds at Disneyland Paris (Image: Dave G. Houser via Getty Images ) Theme park staff stopped a British man who allegedly staged a fake wedding with a nine year-old girl. The ceremony was seen by huge crowds under the iconic castle at Disneyland Paris. The 22 year-old is man was said to have played the role of the "groom" in strange event at dawn on June 21 beneath thepark's Sleeping Beauty castle. He told police that the "wedding" was staged for a social media video. Disneyland Paris staff reportedly intervened and alerted authorities when spotted a nine year-old Ukrainian child dressed as a bride. The can be booked outside public visiting hours, and the organisers are said to have reserved it for what they claimed would be an authentic wedding ceremony, reported Yorkshire Live .and the Express. Footage obtained by French broadcaster BFM TV showed around 100 guests seated before the ceremony began while a female violin trio performed in front of a flower-adorned stage, the Times reported. The event is said to have cost the organiser €130,000 (£111,229). Alexandre Verney, assistant prosecutor for the Seine-et-Marne département, said: "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 privatised Disneyland, claiming that it was a real marriage." Article continues below The mother and the older Latvian were released after the child was medically examinaned, which showed no signs of abuse or restraint, it was reported. But the British man and the other Latvian were stopped for questioning over potential money laundering and fraud offences, said the prosecutor's office. Disney thanked its staff for halting the peculiar proceedings. A witness told Le Parisien: "We were not informed at any point that it was about a film shoot. We all believed we were going to be part of a wedding. Everyone was shocked. No one saw this coming. Disneyland handles things very well. They immediately cancelled when they realised that the bride was a child. We were appalled by that."
NDTV
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Four Arrested For Staging Fake Wedding Between Adult Man And 9-Year-Old Girl At Disneyland Paris
Four people have been arrested at Disneyland Paris after allegedly attempting to stage a fake wedding between a 22-year-old British man and a 9-year-old Ukrainian girl. According to The Independent, the theme park had been privately hired for the ceremony on Saturday morning before it was open to the public. However, authorities were alerted soon after the Disneyland Paris staff noticed that the bride at a pre-scheduled wedding appeared alarmingly young. According to the outlet, four people have been arrested and taken into custody, including the girl's mother, a 41-year-old Ukrainian woman. Two Latvian nationals, ages 24 and 55, are being questioned on suspicion of money laundering and fraud. The supposed groom is thought to have organised the event. Alexandre Verney, assistant prosecutor for the Seine-et-Marne department, said that the young girl received a medical examination, and it was determined that she was unharmed. "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," Mr Verney said. He also stated that authorities discovered that the wedding "guests" were hired actors who had been bused into the park for the event and given few details about what was scheduled to occur. The whole event was advertised as a "rehearsal" for a wedding in Disneyland. The advert sought to find 200 adults and 100 children aged between 5 and 15. "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," Mr Verney said. The child's mother and the 55-year-old Latvian have since been released from custody. The British man and the 24-year-old Latvian are still being held over potential financial fraud, officials stated. Speaking to a local media outlet, witnesses said that they were "shocked" when they first realised that the bride was a child. "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," they said. "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," the witness added.
Telegraph
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
British man arrested for fake wedding to nine-year-old at Disneyland
A British man has been arrested at Disneyland Paris after allegedly trying to stage a fake wedding to a nine-year-old girl. The theme park had been privately hired for the ceremony early on Saturday morning before it was open to the public, at a reported cost of €130,000 (£111,140). However, police were called after staff realised that the bride, a Ukrainian national who was wearing a wedding dress and reportedly tottering on high heels, appeared to be a young child. They believed that it could have been an illegal child marriage. The suspected instigator, believed to be British, played the role of the groom after 'being professionally made up to look completely different from himself', said Jean-Baptiste Bladier, a public prosecutor in Meaux. Police were still working to formally identify the suspect, Mr Bladier added. Alexandre Verney, the assistant prosecutor for the Seine-et-Marne department, said: 'The event turned out to be a staged event, with the guests themselves extras [invited to be part of the stunt]. 'It wasn't a wedding, but a staged wedding filmed with around a hundred extras. They hired Disneyland Paris, pretending it was a real wedding.' It was to be ''filmed privately' and broadcast on social media', added Mr Bladier. According to Le Parisien, which first reported the incident, a man hired the Disneyland Paris complex, which is the most visited theme park in Europe, several weeks earlier. 'Day worthy of a princess' The girl's mother reportedly told investigators that she wanted to organise a 'day worthy of a princess' for her daughter. Staff were astonished when the nine-year-old appeared on Saturday morning, barely able to stand in stilettos, and they alerted the authorities, the French newspaper reported. The man who organised the event had reportedly submitted false documents concerning his identity, and Disneyland filed a complaint. A witness told Le Parisien: '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.' The investigations, including a medical examination of the nine-year-old 'bride', found that 'she had not been subjected to any violence or coercive acts', the prosecutor's office said. Four people were arrested on Saturday: the suspected British organiser and fake groom, a 24-year-old Latvian woman who helped organise the event and played the role of the bride's fake sister, the child's 41-year-old mother and a 55-year-old Latvian man who was recruited to play a role in the ceremony. On Sunday evening, only the first two suspects were still in custody, the other two having been released without charge. 'Organiser misrepresented himself' According to the Meaux prosecutor's office, Disneyland Paris was deceived as 'the organiser misrepresented himself as a Latvian national and used false documents to obtain the contract for the privatisation of the park'. It added: 'With all charges relating to harm to the minor having been dismissed, the prosecutor's office said it would request charging the two individuals with 'fraud and breach of trust to the detriment of Disneyland Paris, which has also filed a complaint to this effect'.' The office said it would request that they be placed under judicial supervision. The alleged organiser and the bride's 'sister' are due to appear before an investigating judge on Monday. The Meaux public prosecutor's office said it would request that they be placed under judicial supervision. It said that the nine-year-old and her mother 'do not usually stay in France and had arrived in the country two days earlier'. The mother was released without charge along with the 55-year-old Latvian who had alerted staff to the subterfuge. Mr Bladier said: 'He explained that he had been hired to play the role of the bride's father for €12,000 (£10,000) and had discovered at the last minute that she was nine years old.' In a statement, Disneyland Paris said while it had received payment for the event, it was 'immediately cancelled' by its teams 'after significant irregularities were identified'.
Muscat Daily
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Muscat Daily
French police probe staged Disneyland ‘wedding' with minor
Paris, France – A fake wedding at Disneyland Paris in France triggered a police investigation on Sunday after the theme park's staff suspected that the 'bride' in the alleged ceremony was a 9-year-old Ukrainian girl. The bizarre incident was first reported by the Le Parisien daily. The paper said a man had hired the park's complex – which can be used for private events outside opening hours – for a total of €130,000 (US$150,000) several weeks before. Hundreds of extras were brought in to play the role of guests. 'A day worthy of a princess' The staff were shocked to see the young girl, who was barely able to stand in high heels, the report said, adding that they alerted the police that it could be an illegal child marriage. Authorities later said that the 'marriage' was staged. The girl's mother reportedly told the investigators that she wanted her daughter to feel like a Disney 'princess' for the day. 'So it wasn't a wedding, but a staged wedding filmed with around a hundred extras. They hired Disneyland Paris, pretending it was a real wedding,' news agency AFP quoted deputy prosecutor Alexandre Verney as saying. 4 people taken into custody A medical examination carried out on the girl showed that she had not suffered any violence. Four people were taken into custody as the police looked into the circumstances of the incident. The arrests included the so-called 'groom', a 22-year-old, presumably British man who allegedly organised the event, the Ukrainian mother and two Latvian nationals. DW
Local France
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Local France
French police probe fake Disneyland 'marriage' with nine-year-old
Two people were held for questioning in the case, which initially caused alarm when staff alerted police on Saturday that it could have concerned an illegal child marriage. But investigators now believe that the so-called "marriage" was staged, with the girl's mother reportedly saying that she wanted her to feel like a Disney "princess" for the day. "The event turned out to be a staged event, with the guests themselves extras" invited to be part of the stunt, deputy prosecutor Alexandre Verney said. Advertisement "So it wasn't a wedding, but a staged wedding filmed with around a hundred extras. They hired Disneyland Paris, pretending it was a real wedding," he told AFP. Four people were arrested and taken into custody, and the questioning of two of them - suspected of fraud and money laundering - was extended on Saturday evening. They are the so-called "groom" who is believed to be behind the event, 22 years old and "presumed to be British", and a Latvian woman, 24, said a source close to the case. However, the other two people detained - a 41-year-old Ukrainian woman, and a 55-year-old Latvian man - were released. The investigations, including a medical examination of the nine-year-old girl, a Ukrainian national, found that "she had not been subjected to any violence or coercive acts," the prosecutor's office said. According to the Le Parisien daily, which first reported the incident, a man had several weeks previously hired the Disneyland Paris complex for a sum of €130,000 for several hours before it opened to the public. Staff were astonished when the nine-year-old appeared wearing high heels on Saturday morning, barely able to stand in the elaborate footwear, and they alerted the authorities, it said. Advertisement The paper said the man who organised the event had submitted false documents concerning his identity and Disneyland filed a complaint. Hundreds of extras were bussed in to play the part of the guests, it said, while the girl's mother told investigators she wanted to organise a "day worthy of a princess" for her daughter.
