An event themed as a wedding for a 9-year-old girl was held at Disneyland Paris but was halted due to a suspected report of child abuse. The investigation revealed no evidence of abuse, but judicial actions against some individuals for reasons such as submitting false documents are ongoing.
The British Telegraph reported on the 23rd (local time) citing a report from the French newspaper Le Parisien, detailing the events surrounding the incident. According to the report, a wedding-style event took place on the morning of Saturday, the 21st, with about 100 guests in attendance at Disneyland Paris.
The main character was a 9-year-old girl in a wedding dress, and the event was planned by her mother who said she wanted to provide 'a day fit for a princess.' All guests were paid extras, and the event was filmed with plans to upload it to social media. The preparation for the event cost approximately 130,000 euros (about 210 million won).
The incident became known when a 55-year-old man of Latvian nationality, who played the role of 'father of the bride,' felt something was off about the young bride and reported it to Disneyland. Officials halted the event shortly after it started and reported the potential for child abuse and illegal child marriage to the authorities.
The investigating authorities arrested four individuals related to the event, including the 9-year-old girl who was the main character of the event, and conducted a health check on the girl. During this process, no evidence of abuse was found, leading to the release of the girl’s mother (41) and the man playing the role of 'father of the bride' without charges.
However, the woman (24) who played the role of 'sister of the bride' and the man who played the 'groom' are under investigation for submitting false documents to Disneyland, deceiving them into thinking it was a real wedding.
The girl and her mother are Ukrainian nationals who entered France two days before the event and were not residents of France.