British man charged over staged ‘wedding’ with 9-year old at Disneyland Paris

Jacky Jhaj has been charged after organising a staged wedding with a nine-year-old child at Disneyland Paris.

Jacky Jhaj, a 39-year-old British man has been charged by French authorities for organising a mock wedding involving a nine-year-old Ukrainian girl at Disneyland Paris.

The staged event was brought to police attention after a hired participant contacted authorities in concern.

According to Meaux prosecutor, Jhaj is a convicted sexual offender currently wanted in the UK and has been on their sex offenders register since 2016 after being convicted of sexual activity with two 15-year-old girls. 

One of the hired actors for the wedding, told police he was paid €12,000 to play the bride’s father and only realised the bride was a child shortly before the event. Another hired guest described arriving at the venue and seeing “a little girl dressed in white,” saying the sight left her in tears.

Authorities confirmed that the girl had not been physically or sexually harmed, nor was she coerced into participating. The man had gone to lengths to disguise himself, allegedly using professional makeup to alter his appearance.

In total, four people were initially arrested, including the girl’s 41-year-old mother, a 24-year-old Latvian woman who was to play the bride’s sister, and a 55-year-old Latvian man. As of Tuesday, only the British man remains in custody.

He has been charged with fraud, breach of trust, money laundering, and identity theft, and is being held in pretrial detention.

The prosecutor noted that Disneyland Paris had been misled during the booking process. French outlet BFMTV reported the total cost of the event may have exceeded €130,000. The investigation remains ongoing as officials attempt to determine the full purpose behind the elaborate arrangement.