French police probe fake Disneyland 'marriage' with nine-year-old / Photo: Ian LANGSDON - AFP
-
Sherilyn Smith Encourages Women to Embrace Scars as Symbols of Resilience
-
Korea's Severe Asthma Patients Blocked from Biologics by Restrictive Reimbursement Rules
-
Belgium Signs Contract for 20 Rheinmetall Skyranger Air Defence Systems
-
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Signs Pacts With London and Ottawa Institutions at CIIE
-
Spectrocell Strengthens Product Discovery and Customer Engagement with Bioz Badges
-
Fulcrum Metals PLC Announces Fulcrum to Increase Shareholding in Loyalist
-
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - November 10
-
New Gold IRA Investing Guide Explains How to Buy Gold in an IRA for American Consumers
-
RBI Data Reveals Divergence in Credit Card Spending and Debit Card Cash Withdrawals
-
First-time boat buyers advised to assess full ownership costs
-
Panthers expected to begin 2027 NRL season away from new stadium
-
Planning and preparation can reduce stress of interstate relocation
-
Sweet As app launches restaurant discovery platform
-
Two more arrested in Carrie Mullane suspected murder investigation
-
Phoenix Restaurants Offer Thanksgiving Dinner to Go for Pickup
-
MLA seeks inquiry into reported sectarian gestures on Ormeau Road
-
Mayo school appeals for information after convent and chapel vandalism
-
Louise O’Reilly attacks Simon Harris over unemployment remarks
-
Virginia overwhelms Arkansas 91-72 behind balanced scoring
-
Canadian soldier Aidan Goulding remembered at Vancouver funeral
-
Second major storm brings destructive winds and outages to British Columbia
-
Tayyab Arif hits 57 on Pakistan Test debut against Sri Lanka
-
Godzilla Minus Zero leads North American box office with $31.6m
-
Robert Trujillo discusses literacy and social justice children’s books
-
Advocate calls for coordinated support for children facing trafficking
-
Civil rights advocate William Bill Tucker dies aged 98
-
Medicare Open Enrollment Ends Dec. 7: Review Your Coverage Options
-
Pennsylvania Democrats secure state trifecta in midterm elections
-
US Treasury order targets bank transfers linked to crypto exchange MEXC
-
Godzilla Minus Zero sets foreign-language box-office opening record
-
Nvidia CEO Controversy Sparks Fears of Tighter U.S. AI Chip Curbs for Samsung and SK hynix
-
Eagles record six sacks as rushing attack struggles against Giants
-
Villeneuve teases James Bond casting at Los Angeles museum gala
-
Thames Water seeks to delay £12bn in debt repayments
-
Nottinghamshire launches specialist rural crime policing team
-
Newark boxing gym expands alternative education programme
-
China confirms talks over possible Xi-Putin-Trump summit
-
Democrats consider impeachment drive against Defence Secretary Hegseth
-
Rail journey offers a slower route to a Berlin city break
-
Energy bill plan could use HMRC income data to target support
-
Arsenal control title race as Manchester United fall into bottom three
-
Business owner earning £6,000 a month tackles £70,000 debt
-
Suspected Krakow gunman dies after attack that killed six
-
Nvidia chief faces inquiry after disclosing affair with suspected Chinese agent
-
Carrick backs Dalot after hostile reception from Manchester United fans
-
Comet returns as online electrical marketplace 14 years after collapse
French police probe fake Disneyland 'marriage' with nine-year-old
French police were on Sunday probing the circumstances of a bizarre stunt at Disneyland outside of Paris, with a group of adults suspected of hiring the theme park and paying hundreds of extras to stage a fake marriage for a nine-year-old Ukrainian girl.
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.
"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 euros ($150,000) 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.
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.
S.Gregor--AMWN
