Great now our kids can't even be safe going up to hug "Tigger" at Disney!!!!
"Disney character accused of fondling
Friday, April 2, 2004 Posted: 7:44 PM EST (0044 GMT)
(CNN) -- A Walt Disney World employee dressed as the character Tigger at the Orlando, Florida, theme park was arrested Friday on charges of molesting a minor and committing battery against her mother while the three posed for a photo, according to a police affidavit.
Michael Chartrand, 36, was booked on $2,500 bond, according to a spokesman for the Orange County Jail.
Chartrand is accused of fondling the breasts of a woman and her 13-year-old daughter as he stood between them posing for a picture at Walt Disney World's Toontown February 21, according to an affidavit.
Neither reacted at the time, but the girl later told her parents she had been fondled, and eight days later the family filed a report with the Orange County Sheriff.
During an interview with police, Chartrand said he may have inadvertently touched the girl's breast, and added that he suffers from dyslexia, which impaired his memory.
According to a spokeswoman for Disney, Chartrand has been suspended without pay pending an investigation"
Guess no matter where you are, even in line to hug a beloved children's character...keep your eyes glued to your children.
Dyslexia my "..." Perverts everywhere ! Keep your eyes glued to your children !
What a think to read to come back from being out all night and read .... he could have at least say something like, the paws are too big and it might have touched accidentaily or something, not that anyone would believe that ! Dyslexia ! M.J. Needs some of that too when his court case starts :D
Looking at it from another perspective, I mean mom was ok with being fondled I guess ???? Come on now, till her daughter brought it up, she didn't even mention it, sorry but I couldn't help noticing that :)
Quote from: CamperrooGreat now our kids can't even be safe going up to hug "Tigger" at Disney!!!!
During an interview with police, Chartrand said he may have inadvertently touched the girl's breast, and added that he suffers from dyslexia, which impaired his memory.
Guess no matter where you are, even in line to hug a beloved children's character...keep your eyes glued to your children.
WOW, some people.....
Is this directed at me ? Did I say something wrong ? :W
Quote from: jpreiserWOW, some people.....
Quote from: birolIs this directed at me ? Did I say something wrong ? :W
No directed at tigger.....
Oh, ok, I agree, some people !
Quote from: jpreiserNo directed at tigger.....
Birol has sharp eyes.....well if the paws were too big, well yeah it could happen. Yeah I guess maybe dyslexia might make his attempt to put his paws on their backs to end up different. ;) :eek: :D . (Just kidding.) To wait 8 days to file a complaint tells me those folks are the owner of a problem. :mad: Some people!
I guess this proves that in any large group of people you will have good & bad. Disney employs tens of thousands of people, so I'm actually surprised is hasn't happend sooner (or more often).
Quote from: Tim5055I guess this proves that in any large group of people you will have good & bad. Disney employs tens of thousands of people, so I'm actually surprised is hasn't happend sooner (or more often).
Tim,
It has countless times...I am suprised that they got the Orange County sheriff to respond...Usually DW handles it internally to avoid the publicity. I will have to search for the link, there was a story done on it a while back.
Aaron :cool:
Do the words "Innocent until proven quilty" have any meaning in America?
I thought they did.
Especially when the eight-day factor is factored in.
gsm x2
wahoonc you are absolutely correct. Disney hushes this kind of thing up all the time. If you pick up a pay phone at Disney and dial 911, do you get emergency dispatchers? NO, you get Disney employees. Until a few years ago Disney didn't even do background checks on their new employees. What a great place for a mo to work. :mad:
I think it is a little wierd that they waited 8 days. If anybody ever touched my daughter or sons, I'd be making a spectacle of myself and their behavior. Why wait so long? Did they doubt her? Did their lawyer recommend it? Makes you think.
According to FOX network, he also did the same to the Mom!?? HELLO?? Ever hear of a quick knee and a set of vocal cords??
$ounds like they want to get $omething.
Innocent until proven guilty.....YES
13yr not reporting......YES
mother not reporting for 8 days......NO
Especially in these times, I would have opened my mouth immediately, if not doing something as soon as he touched me.
I can NOT imagine a thirteen year old girl not screaming the moment someone touches them somewhere inappopriate ! I look at my daughters friends and how they are, how we keep brainwashing our own daughter on what is acceptable or not, and I just can not believe that a 13 year old will not scream when someone fondles her ! Unless, there are other issues ....like she is used to it, or she doesn't care, or she is little bit slow in certain areas or have some development delays.
As for the mother, Come one now ! 8 days !!!!! She maybe didn't realize that she is being touched ? 8 days !!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease ! And then they decdie to press charges !
I am sorry but the more I think about this, the more I am starting to believe that this is nothing but a money grab. I guess innocent until proven guilty is a good approach !
How did they realize that they were touched ? Was it a conversation like this , after 8 days ? Both are plauisable I guess :
Mom : So xxx did you like the disney world ?
Girl : yes mom, it was awful
Mom : What was the best part :
Girl : The tiger, he was so strong
Mom : He looked strong right ?
Girl : No mom, when he squeezed my xxx, it almost hurt
Mother : come to think of it , mine almost hurt too !
Girl : MOOOOM !
Mom : XXXXX !
Mom : Oh my God ! the pervert , he touched both of us !
Mom : I am calling the police
or more like this :
Girl : Mom, when can we go to Disneyworld again, it was awesome
Mom : I don't know dear , we are poor, I don't know how I will pay the visa bill for that trip
Girl : awwww, I really like it too, look at that picture of us and the tiger !
Mom : I GOT IT, we will say he fondled us, you just tell the cops he touched your xxx. This way we might even get a free life pass to disney world and some hush hush money to boot !
Mom : calls the police
Disclaimer : I was bored and got upset with the story, if the guy is guilty, that is bad, if they are framing him, that is bad too. Why are we like this ???
I agree with the innocent until proven guilty bunch! I think this really smells of a money grab! Eight days, then BOTH mother AND daughter saying they were fondled. If it was JUST the daughter I might say she was scared, but both???
I am also sure that there are so many extortion attempts against DW and others that that is one of the reason's many of these get to be hushed! If someone fondled my daughter at 13, there would be no way they'd be able to hush it up! You can ONLY hush up something IF BOTH parties agree to it! Such as in lucrative pay-off!
Quote from: angelsmom10Innocent until proven guilty.....YES
13yr not reporting......YES
mother not reporting for 8 days......NO
Especially in these times, I would have opened my mouth immediately, if not doing something as soon as he touched me.
Maybe Mom was feeling Goofy!!!
I too am pretty sceptical about this situation. It certainly can't take 8 days to figure out someone groped you. I would bet if there was a picture of this mom you'd see the $$ signs in her eyes. Unfortunately with this kind of charge many people consider the person accused "guilty until they can prove innocence" and that can be difficult to prove.
Quote from: gsm x2Do the words "Innocent until proven quilty" have any meaning in America?
I thought they did.
Especially when the eight-day factor is factored in.
gsm x2
They used to. Not anymore. Public opinion and money are the determining factors today.
Once the press gets ahold of something, watch out! They will milk it (no pun intended) to death.
"Send lawyers, guns, and money..." Warren Zevon
QuoteUntil a few years ago Disney didn't even do background checks on their new employees.
Try until about 20 years ago. I've had family members hired to collect garbage, drive monorail, drive busses, work gift shops, waitress restaurants, and hostess restaurants for Disney, and they had background checks done. The earliest were the garbage collectors. That was in 1985.
I have enough family working for the mouse (sister-in-law, three brothers-in-law, and two of their ex-wives), and been there enough to know that there is NO WAY this incident actually happened.
Disney characters are always accompanied by at least two non-character assistants (when in groups, there is one assitant per character plus one), and the employees who are "in character" have impecable records with thorough background checks. The waiting list to play those parts is a mile long.
This is a family that spent 8 days convincing their daughter of what to say so they could file a big bucks lawsuit.
Another alternative is that all kinds of people visit Disney, including troubled adults with troubled children.
Both of these happen from time to time.
I don't know for certain (the final deals are always secret), but my suspicion is that Disney will give them an offer of some amount of money (much less than they are asking for) to go away. If they don't take it, they will show them all of their defensive evidence (enough to prove that they are lying) and say "take the money or we'll file charges against you." End of incident.
Austin
Sorry Ma'am, I just dont believe you and your daughter! It sure wouldnt take ME or my DD's EIGHT DAYS to realize we had been "fondled!" :(
Birol, I think I need to adopt you. You are a goshdarned creative genius and write WONDERFUL scripts! :W :S
"Neither reacted at the time, but the girl later told her parents she had been fondled, and eight days later the family filed a report with the Orange County Sheriff."
It doesn't say that it took them 8 days to realize that they had been touched. They both realized it that they, themselves had been touched. Neither reacted when it happened. Then they both realized that the other had been touched. It was 8 days later that The FATHER and DAUGHTER made a report to the police.
Consider for a moment that they may have been consulting with an attorney in the meantime and quite possibly had been in contact with WDW before they made the official police report. I wonder why the mother was not involved in making the report?
UPDATED (as Posted April 2, 2004 in the Orlando Sentinel)
'Tigger' arrested on molestation charges
Costumed character at Disney World charged with fondling girl, mother.
By Anthony Colarossi | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted April 2, 2004, 4:49 PM EST
Orange County Sheriff's Office investigators have arrested a Walt Disney World employee who worked as the character "Tigger" and charged him with molesting a 13-year-old girl and her mother while posing with them for pictures in February.
Michael Chartrand, 36, was charged with one count of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child between 12 and 15 years old and one count of simple battery.
He was booked into the Orange County Jail today on a $2,500 bond.
A Disney spokeswoman said Chartrand has been suspended without pay.
The sheriff's office received a complaint that a costumed character at Disney World had touched a girl and her mother inappropriately while their pictures were being taken with the character Feb. 21. According to an incident report, Chartrand fondled the breasts of the girl and the mother while posing for pictures at the Magic Kingdom's Toon Town.
"As the photo was being taken, [the victim] claims that Tigger moved his right hand up to her right breast and started massaging it several times," the incident report states. [The victim] became very embarrassed and ashamed of the incident and claims that she did not say anything to her mother until they left the park."
Later, the girl learned that the costumed character had done the same thing to her mother with his left hand, the report says.
In a charging affadavit filed in court, police wrote that Chartrand told them he had trouble remembering things, but was "very sorry for everything that had occurred," and hoped the victim would forgive him for what he had done.
The girl and her father reported the incident on Feb. 29.
well, all I can say is that this is a very serious charge and IF this guy had been employed playing this character for very long, it is surprising--if this is the kind of thing he liked to do--that he wasnt caught before.
Believe me, if this had happened to one of my kids they'd probably have yelled "hey, you pervert get your *&!@%! hand off me!" right there in front of everyone and made an ugly, emarrassing scene, but if this girl was of a quite shy nature, then her behaviour was probably in character.
And yes, Cindy, the 8 day lapse could well have been because of pondering what to do and consulting various legal options.
the truth is, we really need to keep in mind that our law says "innocent until proven guilty" and at times like this, when a child is involved, it is not always easy to remember this.
Quote from: NightOwlthe truth is, we really need to keep in mind that our law says "innocent until proven guilty"
I, personally, can't stand this phrase. I wish it would read "innocent, UNLESS proven guilty".
The word UNTIL gives the impression that the person
is guilty that the proof of guilt is there, just not yet found.
The word UNLESS implies that the person
is innocent unless facts pointing to guilty are found and proven, which there may not even be.
Quote"As the photo was being taken, [the victim] claims that Tigger moved his right hand up to her right breast and started massaging it several times," the incident report states. [The victim] became very embarrassed and ashamed of the incident and claims that she did not say anything to her mother until they left the park."
There may have been a juxtaposition that showed up in the photo, so they decided to take advantage of it. That's why it took 8 days, they took a week to get their film done.
QuoteIn a charging affadavit filed in court, police wrote that Chartrand told them he had trouble remembering things, but was "very sorry for everything that had occurred," and hoped the victim would forgive him for what he had done.
I've seen enough to know that 1) What he said and what the police claim he said are not necessarily the same thing 2) what the afidavit said and what the press quoted were not necessarily the same thing 3) without a full quote, it's easy to misunderstand what he really meant. If he did nothing at all wrong, I suspect he'd still be "sorry for everything that had occurred."
Austin
quote the Orlando Sentinel...
"As the photo was being taken, [the victim] claims that Tigger moved his right hand up to her right breast and started massaging it several times," the incident report states. [The victim] became very embarrassed and ashamed of the incident and claims that she did not say anything to her mother until they left the park."
end quote
If this happened as the photo was being taken, didn't the person who was looking through the view finder of the camera notice Tiggers hand moving up and down over the mother and daughter's breasts?!?! Wouldn't that have most likely been the father taking that picture? Hmmmm
Since I will be heading out to Disney to camp at the highly acclaimed Fort Wilderness, I will make it a point to visit the parks. If I run into Tigger or any of the other Disney cartoon folk and get my photo taken I will post it here since I am now censored all over the place.
Thank you,
Janet Jackson
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
HE HE, just kidding :J
It's really me Bree :W and if that would happen to me we may have to open the forums up to the "bang bang shot him up topic"
Since I live here in Florida and have a good friend who's husband works for Disney (sorry, even I dont get a discount :mad: ) . Yes, oddly enough some things are swept under a small rug, since most people are looking for a small claims lawsuit that is easily settled out of court. HOWEVER, if a crime is commited no matter what, it must be reported and the laws of justice take over. If you know of a matter that was not handled correctly, such as the Disney staff did not handle it in reporting it properly by calling in the authorities. Buy all means report it to the Florida States Attorneys office first. Unless that is you are in it for the $$. There are billboards all the way home for attorneys waiting for your case. Just give them a ring. :rolleyes:
I believe real criminals need to go to jail, not have thier bosses or taxpayers pay for thier crimes. :confused:
Now thats the real.
B
Have fun out there and keep safe :U
Could it be that the guy is little bit, "slow" and would say I am sorry whatever it is I did to cause all this ? This whole thing might just as well be beyond his comprehension ..... Or maybe he is need of some good prison threapy ! It is a shame we will never really know whether he is guilty or not ....
Maybe it is really that big costume with the big paws...... ;)
Those costumes are soo huge anyways, how would one feel something through it ???
Quote from: B-flatMaybe it is really that big costume with the big paws...... ;)
That's true Birol, what kind of thrill could he have gotten with his hands in great big Tigger paws? What if it was just a mistake? hmmm... (silly rant mode on) What if they are accusing this guy falsly and he really just had a bad costume with stupidly big paws??!! Has anyone here ever had thier picture taken with Tigger? How big are those paws? I did a search on google, but came up with nothing. Well, at least there is one good thing: The wonderful thing about Tiggers is, he's the only one! ;) (silly rant mode off)
Quote from: Acts 2:38 girlHas anyone here ever had thier picture taken with Tigger? How big are those paws?
Yes those paws are big.
And as Austin Boston pointed out, all the Disney Charters are always escorted by one or two staff as they walk around. Everytime we saw them, there was a crowd of people gathered around him, hardly the place to be trying to innappropiately touch someone, especially as your every move is being recorded by someone's video camera.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/108155264/108158847THKkLb
Quote from: 6QuigsYes those paws are big.
And as Austin Boston pointed out, all the Disney Charters are always escorted by one or two staff as they walk around. Everytime we saw them, there was a crowd of people gathered around him, hardly the place to be trying to innappropiately touch someone, especially as your every move is being recorded by someone's video camera.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/108155264/108158847THKkLb
With the size of Tiggers paw, it could very easily been right there as seen in this pic. Where are the pics the family would have taken? Not very many families go without a camera and surely they would have pics taken with characters. Just my 2 cents.
Quote from: angelsmom10With the size of Tiggers paw, it could very easily been right there as seen in this pic. Where are the pics the family would have taken? Not very many families go without a camera and surely they would have pics taken with characters. Just my 2 cents.
well, like Cindy says, "innocent UNLESS proven guilty."
Just imagine, if you are this guy and you ARE INNOCENT--how this could ruin your life because the stigma of this kind of stuff never really disappears no matter how false the accusations are.
If this guy is truly guilty, I will be surprised, but odd things sometimes happen no matter how many safety systems are set up.
I am not a great admirer of the Disney CORPORATION in some ways (insisting they be allowed to build an amusement park RIGHT NEXT to a Civil War Battlefield for God's sake. How disgusting to be so money-grubbing and disrespectfull :() But nonetheless, I think they try to be super careful to protect their image as a safe, wholesome family entertainment destination.
What is happenign with this guy ? Any new news in the newspapers ?
I've been checking off and on this week, but so far nothing.
You are formal follow up person for this story now :) Please do not fail us :J :W
Oh Nooooo... more responsibility!!! :)
Here's a little update, not to surprising since people usually come out of the woodwork at the 1st cry!
http://www.mouseplanet.com/parkupdates/wdw/wdw040412.htm (//%22http://www.mouseplanet.com/parkupdates/wdw/wdw040412.htm%22)
Complaints seem to be coming out of the woodwork. Wonder if they have thought that the size of the gloves is the problem. Just can't seem to fatham how someone could get "their jollies" with the thickness of the glove????
Oh MY God !
Good detective work Acts 2 38 girl ! Excellent !
So Mr. Tigger was supposedly, unless proven innocent, fond of touching buttocks and stuff. I don't understand how people keep quiet and then when one person complains they all come flocking in ? Is this a herd mentality we have here ? Aren't we responsible for our own ?
We shall see what happens to mr. Fondler. I don't envy the police departments job as there will be many that will join in just to get an out of court settlement.
Keep up the good work Mrs. Detective !
Must be the tigger outfit, some reports are prior to this gentleman being hired.
Or we can generalize ! All people who are tiggers are fondlers ! I SAYS HANG THEM ALL !!!! :rolleyes: :J
Quote from: angelsmom10Must be the tigger outfit, some reports are prior to this gentleman being hired.
Don't know if anybody heard, but Tigger was acquitted. I heard it last week, but kept forgetting to post.
http://courttv.com/people/2004/0805/tigger_ap.html (//%22http://courttv.com/people/2004/0805/tigger_ap.html%22)
I guess we never really know if justice is done, but this one raised warning signs with me all along! Those characters are just too out in the open to be purposely fondling anyone. Heck, I doubt they can even pass gas without about 100 people knowing it.
We were just there in January and saw first hand the crowds around these characters!
Anyway, I hope that justice WAS served!
Well, here is the rest of the story
'Tigger' Found Not Guilty Of Molesting Girl (http://www.local6.com/news/3616080/detail.html)
36-Year-Old Faced Up To 15 Years In Prison
POSTED: 3:01 pm EDT August 4, 2004
UPDATED: 9:41 pm EDT August 6, 2004
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A Walt Disney World worker who portrayed the character Tigger was found not guilty Wednesday of touching the breast of a 13-year-old girl while posing for a photo at the Magic Kingdom.
Jurors found 36-year-old Michael Chartrand not guilty of misdemeanor battery and lewd and lascivious molestation, a felony, after deliberating for less than one hour. He had faced 15 years in prison if convicted.
Chartrand hugged his attorneys when he heard the verdict.
The prosecutor and defense lawyer ended their closing arguments in Michael Chartrand's molestation trial at about 5:15 p.m.
Defense attorney Jeffrey Kaufman tried on the Tigger costume late Wednesday in an effort to show jurors how difficult it would be to know exactly where a person's hands are when posing for photos.
Meanwhile, Assistant State Attorney William Jay displayed several photos seized from Chartrand's home showing him posing with theme park visitors.
Prosecutors claimed 90 percent of the photos contained young girls and several showed his hands in a questionable position that may violate Disney rules.
One photo showed the 13-year-old victim taken just before or after she claimed she was groped.
But, Chartrand said he had no way of knowing whether all of the photos showed him or his costumed co-worker. He also said he collected the photos to show his family and supervisors, according to the report.
Earlier Wednesday, Chartrand answered "no" when asked if he had ever touched anyone inappropriately while working as a costumed character at the theme park resort.
Chartrand said he wrote a letter of apology to the girl who he didn't remember, but only at the urging of a detective investigating the case. The detective told him it would make the girl feel better, Chartrand testified.
"I believe he was trying to get me to admit to something I would never do, fondling or groping a female," Chartrand said of the detective.
Jurors were also shown dozens of the photos as Jay questioned Chartrand about whether the hands of the characters were placed appropriately on waists, shoulders and rib cages.
Chartrand's defense attorney has contended that the girl's mother was merely after money and planned to sue Disney. The mother also claimed Tigger had touched her breast too during the visit to Disney World last February, although no criminal charges were filed on her allegation.
Wednesday, the mother of the victim described her daughter's condition after the alleged incident and admitted that she planned to file a lawsuit against Disney during testimony in Orange County court.
"Did you ever discuss suing Disney with the father of the child?" an attorney asked the mother.
"It came up, yes," she replied.
"When did it come up?" the attorney asked.
"I don't know, I talk with him every day," the mother said.
"Didn't you originally tell me you did not discuss it with him?" the attorney asked.
"I don't remember," she said. Prosecutors acknowledge that the victim's mother lied to them about a possible lawsuit, Local 6 News reported.
During Wednesday's testimony, the mother also said her daughter has been embarrassed by the incident.
The prosecution read an e-mail written by the victim's mother to Walt Disney World in an apparent effort to rebuild her credibility, Local 6 News reported.
"Tigger had fondled under her arm and kept touching her right breast. She was embarrassed and ashamed and didn't want to tell me at that time. She has been crying a lot and does not want to come back to Disney World or ever see Tigger again," she wrote.
If convicted, Chartrand could have been sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Earlier this week, he rejected a plea offer that would have given him only probation.
If I were Tigger, I'd be talking to my lawyer to see about a lawsuit myself! He's had his name tarnished all the news and no telling the emotional damage he and his family suffered. The jury didn't even deliberate long enough to need a coffee break! It's a shame the guy was put "on trial" in the media before he ever got his day in court.
All that said, it's something to keep a watchful eye on.
QuoteIf I were Tigger, I'd be talking to my lawyer to see about a lawsuit myself! He's had his name tarnished all the news and no telling the emotional damage he and his family suffered.
No way! There is way to much suing and counter-suing in this country as it is, I think this guy should just walk away thankful his name was cleared. If he turned down a plea offer for just probation, then I seriously doubt he ever touched the girl. He's just lucky the jury saw through the mother. And even if it never got as far as the courtroom, he'd have emotional damage from the accusation. Now at least he has justification of his innocence.
Pheeeew ! Justice system worked obviously !!! what a close call for the poor tigger man ! I bet he was/will be fired/terminated pronto regardless of the result though. these kind of accusations end a persons life no matter what.
Tigger returns to work.
http://www.wesh.com/news/3639665/detail.html