A British man has been charged in France after allegedly organising a fake wedding at Disneyland Paris, where a nine-year-old girl was cast as the bride. According to French prosecutors, 39-year-old Jaskarn 'Jacky' Jhaj, who is said to have acted as the groom, is facing charges including fraud, abuse of trust, identity theft, and money laundering. Jhaj is said to have forked out £111,000 to stage the event at the fairytale Sleeping Beauty castle.

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Jhaj posed as a 22-year-old groom at the event. Police were alerted by an individual who claimed he had been hired to portray the bride’s father at the staged event, which took place at the Marne-la-Vallée resort. Prosecutor Jean-Baptiste Bladier stated the man told authorities he was paid €12,000 (£10,000) for the role and only discovered the child’s age shortly before the event.

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The French prosecutor revealed that the girl involved in the staged wedding is a Ukrainian national who had arrived in France with her 41-year-old mother just two days before the event. On Saturday, four individuals were arrested in connection with the incident: the British man who acted as the groom, the girl’s mother, a 24-year-old Latvian woman who portrayed the bride’s sister, and a 55-year-old Latvian man hired to play her father.

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Authorities said Disneyland Paris had been misled by the use of fake identification documents belonging to the Latvian man, which were used to book the private venue. Around 100 extras were also hired and falsely presented as legitimate wedding guests. The British man appeared in court in Meaux on Monday, where he was formally charged.

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It has been confirmed that Jhaj was jailed for four years in 2016 for grooming and sexually assaulting two 15-year-old girls. He had been accused of luring the girls to parties by posing as a top Hollywood film producer and giving them alcohol. On Tuesday, Prosecutor Jean-Baptiste Bladier said:

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“(He) was reportedly convicted in the past, including for offences of a sexual nature against minors. He is, as such, listed in the British database of sexual offenders and is currently wanted nationally by the judicial authorities of his country of origin due to a breach of the requirements deriving from said order.”

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Mr Bladier noted the ceremony was staged as a fictional event meant to be filmed privately. He also stated that the man had undergone professional makeup to disguise his appearance. The 24-year-old Latvian woman is currently being treated as a witness in the investigation.

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Jhaj is known to stage elaborate hoaxes. Last year, he staged a fake funeral at the London Oratory in Knightsbridge, complete with an empty coffin and hired actors to pose as mourners. In another unusual incident in 2023, he orchestrated a fake red carpet event in London’s West End, involving 90 children and numerous teenage extras who were paid to act as part of a crowd for a staged filming.

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The source of funding behind his elaborate and costly productions remains unknown. In one of his stunts last year, Jhaj, who has openly described himself on camera as “a dangerous sexual predator”, was filmed naked in Silvertown, east London, as he detonated a fake police van, launching its roof 50 feet into the air.

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The footage was part of a project titled Project Dover, which also included setting fire to a van marked with BBC World branding. In a separate 2024 stunt, Jhaj was seen sitting at a typewriter surrounded by piles of newspapers, before he threw lit cigarettes at a police car, a police van, and a BBC-branded lorry. All three vehicles exploded into flames, causing alarm among local residents. The nine-year-old girl’s mother, believed to be of Ukrainian origin, allegedly said she wanted her daughter to experience feeling like a Disney “princess” for the day. The child reportedly had to be carried throughout the event, as her elaborate costume made it difficult for her to walk.

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Disneyland Paris has yet to comment on the incident.

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