A man who has been arrested for allegedly trying to marry a young girl is said to have an extensive criminal history.
Earlier today (June 24), news broke that a British man had been charged with a series of crimes including fraud, breach of trust, money laundering, and identity theft after setting up a $115,000 wedding at Disneyland Paris.
While it's not out of the ordinary for people to want to wed at the Paris-based theme park, event organizers were unaware that the bride was a nine-year-old girl whom was accompanied by her mother on the day in question.
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The nuptials were set to take place on Saturday, but staff at the park alerted the French authorities to what they suspected to be an illegal child marriage upon seeing the bride-to-be.
As well as the young girl's mom there were other members of her family in attendance as well, in addition to 100 guests, Mail Online reports.
It's since been revealed that the whole thing was staged as the girl's mother said she wanted her daughter to feel like a 'princess' for the day.
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Deputy prosecutor Alexandre Verney said, per Le Monde: "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."
It's said that the whole thing was going to be broadcast on social media.
While it appears as if the man wasn't genuinely going to wed the nine-year-old and that was all a ruse, the man's criminal history has since been revealed.
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Prosecutors in Meaux, east of Paris, say that the 'groom', believed to a 39-year-old man, is known in Britain 'for sexual offences against minors'.
Their statement went on: "He is registered on the British sex offenders register and is currently wanted at the national level by the judicial authorities of his country of origin, for failing to comply with the obligations arising from said registration."
The Brit has been hailed as the 'mastermind' of the bizarre plan, but reportedly there were some Latvian nationals that helped organize it all.
The 'groom' is one of four people to be arrested. The child's mother, a 41-year-old Ukrainian woman, a 24-year-old Latvian woman who played the role of the bride's sister, and finally, a 55-year-old Latvian man who also took part in the 'ceremony' have been taken into custody as well, says The Standard.
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If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.
Topics: Crime, France, Disneyland, News, World News, Weddings
Niamh Shackleton