'Cosjobs' (Costumed Characters: Mascots; Theme Parks, Etc.)

[OneWingedBird]

Disney man in 'Tigger' costume charged with molesting girl, mom

Associated Press


ORLANDO, Fla. - A Walt Disney World employee who worked as the character "Tigger" was charged Friday with molesting a 13-year-old girl and her mother while posing with them for pictures.

Michael Chartrand, 36, was arrested and charged with one count of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child between 12 and 15 and one count of simple battery. He was booked at the Orange County Jail 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 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 report said. "(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."

The girl later learned that the costumed character had done the same thing to her mother with his left hand, according to the report. The girl and her father reported the incident Feb. 29.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/8341488.htm

 

[Anonymous]

Disney have been criticised for years about the lack of vetting their employees receive.
Theres a long list of previous incidents on anomalies unlimited.

I also hate Disney for the way they've turned Winnie the Pooh into their bitch!!

 

[Rrose_Selavy]

What amazes me is how long Winnie the Pooh has got away with just wearing a top but no genital covering for so long. Perhaps he thinks he won't be accused of flashing if he exposes himself all the time.

Nearly as bizarre as Korky the Cat in his top hat and tails but neglecting his trousers.

 

[Anonymous]

And what does it mean, the pooh ?

 

[Rrose_Selavy]

And what does it mean, the pooh ?

Exactly! Maybe it has something to do with a bear sh****ing in the woods. Bet he has the nerve to blame Eyore!

 

[Bullseye]

I also hate Disney for the way they've turned Winnie the Pooh into their bitch!!

Can never forgive them for giving Winnie the Pooh an American accent. . Pooh is a very English bear.

 

[JamesWhitehead]

This sudden outbreak of (warped) sexuality into a situation so
grotesque as having one's photo taken with a paid-by-the-hour
false Tigger leaves me wondering what degree of normality is normal.

No doubt the sad, confused Tigger will be gelded while his sad confused
customers receive counselling.

 

[Anonymous]

Actually this doesn't surprise me in the slightest Tigger has been a disreputable character for some time.

My brother purchased a Pooh bear and Tigger characters for his twin girls Tigger used to entertain by bouncing on his butt while shouting way-hey or what ever.

But what can you do when Tigger pushes Pooh forward on to his face and decides to demonstrate to three year olds what TIGGERS DO BEST!

 

[Anonymous]

what do you call a bear with lots of money?


Winnie the Pools.....

 

[Anonymous]

I thought that said Tiger molests girl, and therefore thought it would be another version of the very implausible "circus artiste raped by performing lion/tiger/elephant/etc" UL...

 

[littleblackduck]

A Tigger is a terrible ting

Sorry. Been watching too many Disney cartoons.

 

[Rrose_Selavy]

I think this Tigger at Disneyland had previously worked for Siegfred and Roy but they didn't get a character reference when they took him on..

 

[Kondoru]

I have always wondered about A A Milne...

Why did Rabbit let Pooh get stuck in his doorway when he could have dug him out?

What was Christopher Robin doing showing off his Blue Braces?

What was Kanga doing to Piglet in the bath?

And we wont even begin to talk about Tigger.....

(Says she who has always been a big Pooh fan, but is still very reserved about Disne.)

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Some rather odd twists and turns on this as it appears people are making other allegations about Tigger but before this one guy was eomployed and possibly at times when he wasn't playing Tigger either - they are also having to have each character accompanied by 'handlers':

He added, "It appears all of our complaints are focusing on Tigger."

........

Several of the incidents detailed in the sheriff's reports occurred during February and March when Chartrand was working as a costumed character. But it's not clear yet whether he was working as Tigger on the dates of the complaints. Some of the complaints predate his employment, which started in August 2003, according to Disney.

........

The training encouraged the touching of guests' shoulders, but specifically made torsos off limits, said Robert Rexach, one of several employees who played Tigger from September 2000 to July 2003.

"In training they flat out said, 'Don't place your hand over a girl's breast, even if it is [hovering] a foot or two over it. A photograph is two dimensional, so that would look bad," Rexach, 21, said.

Tigger's paws are slightly oversized and contain "one or two millimeters" of padding underneath bright orange fur, he said, adding they are slightly less cumbersome than an oven mitt.

"I could turn pages in a book pretty well, but I still couldn't feel them," Rexach said.

Rexach said that he was dismissed by Disney after a teenage guest complained that he was attacked by Rexach, who was dressed as a Country Bear at the time. Rexach denied the allegation, arguing that he was attacked by the teenager and "nudged" him off in self-defense.

The Tigger of A.A. Milne's storybooks and Disney films possesses a hyperactive bent, and the theme-park character is trained to emulate that upbeat style with frequent arm and leg movements, said Megan Long, who played Winnie the Pooh from 2000 to 2002.

"He's supposed to be really hyper and outgoing. He can't stand in one place. He's not supposed to be grabbing children," said Long, who regularly worked alongside the Tigger character. The gloves that Pooh wore were similar to Tigger's, she said.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/lo...4apr09,0,4065679.story?coll=sfla-news-florida

Disney officials declined to comment on any personnel or staffing changes made inside the park as a result of the Tigger allegations.

"At this point, it's all about cooperating with the investigation," said Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Polak.

Weidner said she was dubious of the additional complaints that have come since Chartrand's arrest.

"That was one of my first thoughts: Someone is out to make a buck," she said.

But Weidner also thinks having guests see the characters accompanied by several handlers is important.

"I think it's a necessary move because I think the public needs reassurance that they (Disney officials) are aware and dealing with the problem," she said. "They don't want this to ignite into a major scandal."

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/8397853.htm

So what do we have? Options:

1. The Tigger suit is turning people into sex attackers?

2. People are jumping on the band wagon to get some Disney dollar?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Emps

 

[Kondoru]

"He's supposed to be really hyper and outgoing. He can't stand in one place. He's not supposed to be grabbing children,"

I thought that grabbing children would be a perfectly in character thing for tigger to do. Hes a little TOO outgoing.

Someones out to make a quick buck.

Im sure old Walt woulnt have stood for this.....

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

I suspected as much:

Tigger 2 in Disney grope

From BRIAN FLYNN
in New York

CAMCORDER footage has caught a SECOND cuddly Tigger groping a mum at a Disney theme park.

The video — shot at Toon Town in Florida’s Disney World — shows an actor dressed as the cartoon character grabbing his victim’s breast from behind.

Brit Michael Chartrand, 36, was kicked out by Disney chiefs last month after being charged with molesting a mum and her 13-year-old daughter while dressed as Tigger.

More than 30 women have accused him of fondling them after he began working at the park last summer.

But the new video was shot in December 2002 and shows ANOTHER groper in the tiger suit.

The latest mum decided not to press charges. But she released the footage to support claims by others who are taking legal action.

Cops confirmed they were probing allegations against Tigger — and admitted Chartrand may not have been the only person in the suit carrying out the attacks.

Spokesman Jim Solomons said: “The gentleman in question here wasn’t in character during the time of some of these occurrences.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004180367,00.html

 

[inkedmagiclady]

The first story stated that it had happened when the mother had her picture taken also, but she did not say anything about it until the daugher brought it up to her.

If I were in that situation, as a woman and a mother, I hope that I would have the courage to say something about it at the time that it occured. I can understand a 13 year old being very embarrassed and not able to communicate the exact details. I, however, would have wanted to kick his ass.

Yes, people are out to make a buck nowadays. I also believe that women could be more assertive with their boundaries. Or do some women have no boundaries?

Edited for horrible grammar. I wanted to say "I would have kicked his ass," but in reality, I probably would have only thought about it.

 

[JamesWhitehead]

inkedmagiclady kicking Tigger's ass. Now there's a picture I'd like to see. By the
sounds of it, almost any Tigger would deserve it too!

It is probably only extremely desperate and/or strange persons who take these jobs. Though
it was reported the Christmas before last, when the UK was at the height of a paedophile
scare-spasm, that Marks & Spencer were recruiting only qualified and screened teachers
to play Santa Claus in their stores.

At £6 an hour IIRC!

 

[Bullseye]

Wen we went to Disneywhateveritwas in Florida last year, there was a singing, dancing procesion thing at the end of the day when all the dressed up characters come up to punters and try to drag them into the dance thing,this girl in a cowgirl outfif came up to me and I thought "no bl**dy way sunshine", luckily she just pointed to the pentagle necklace around my neck, gave me the thumbs up sign and left me in peace, so there are pagans working in Disney, mind you after reading The Da Vincy Code I'm not surprised !. Damn good holiday, really liked the Americans.

 

[Anonymous]

Honey there are Pagans everywhere. I live in the most bible thumpin', street preachin' screamin corners of the state and I know more than one pagan right here.

 

[Bullseye]

Saw a few bizare sights (for an English chap) while we were there, but the most bizare were the people in the next villa, early Sunday morning (we arrived Saturdy night) there was all this shouting coming from the swimming pool of the next villa, it was a black fellow (dont get me wrong I'm not racist) and all his family kneeling down around the pool saying "thank you Lord for this.. and thank you Lord for that.".....all that he was "thanking the Lord for were all matirial things ????" To English pagan eyes it was a very strange sight. , but I was still impressed with the American way of life, its asort of "nothings to much trouble, we can sort that,"attitude, which when you have a special needs kid is really nice.

 

[Kondoru]

Yes, say what you like about `mericans, they do value good service...

...and working for Asiatics for many years, I do too.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Save Tigger from sex trial, Disney says

By Anthony Colarossi & Sean Mussenden
Orlando Sentinel
Posted July 30 2004, 9:06 AM EDT


A leopard can't change its spots, but Walt Disney World wants to hide Tigger's stripes -- at least when the costume of the bouncy tiger shows up next week in court in a sexual-molestation trial.

To protect the frenetic feline's innocent image, a Disney lawyer has suggested that the orange Tigger costume be dyed black or white and its ears be removed. The lawyer made the request to the attorney representing Michael C. Chartrand in the trial that is scheduled to start Monday.

Chartrand was suspended after he was charged with molesting a 13-year-old girl in February while he was dressed as Tigger at Disney World's Toon Town.

Any case in which a child's storybook character is linked to a sex crime is bound to be strange. But the arrest was just the prelude of what now promises to be a bizarre courtroom showdown.

For example:


Chartrand's lawyer, Jeffrey S. Kaufman Jr., also has played Tigger at Disney and works part-time as a costumed character at the theme park. He said he reached out to Chartrand because he thought he was uniquely qualified to defend him.


Prosecutors hope to use as evidence about 200 photographs of tourists posing with Tigger and other characters. But the defense claims there's no way to prove Chartrand was in all the photos.


The victim's family has contacted a lawyer about suing Disney. It is the threat of such litigation and the fear of bad publicity that has Disney in full damage-control mode.

"Disney doesn't want this costume out there," Kaufman said. "They want to protect their copyright. They want to take off everything that would make it look like Tigger," a character from A.A. Milne's children's books.

Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Polak confirmed that company attorneys had expressed concern to both Orange-Osceola State Attorney Lawson Lamar's office and to Kaufman about using the Tigger costume during the trial.

"Our hope is that the use of our costume will be handled with appropriate sensitivity so as to preserve the dreams and magic for our younger guests as much as possible," she said.

However, Polak would not comment on Kaufman's statement that a Disney attorney had suggested taking off Tigger's ears or coloring the costume.

He said he refused to let the costume be "bastardized" because an altered Tigger suit might reflect poorly on his client, making him look demonic or freakish. He would not be specific about how he intends to use the costume during the trial.

Kaufman said he has played Disney characters for about seven years.

"No attorney on the planet could represent this guy better than me in this case," he said.

Disney officials would not confirm that Kaufman worked as a character, saying they do not comment on personnel issues.

Kaufman expects jurors to take the costume with them during deliberations where they can handle it and put on the mask and gloves. Kaufman said he hopes by doing that they would be able to tell how difficult it would be to grope a young girl.

The suits are often bulky and have limited eyesight, say Kaufman and others who have played characters. Kaufman compared the Tigger paws to "oven mitts," with the thumb separated from the other fingers.

Lamar's office confirmed that Disney officials expressed concern about using Tigger's costume in court. Prosecutors said they will not use the costume.

The State Attorney's Office also confirmed that a Disney attorney had sat in on some depositions for witnesses in the case.

"We allow people to sit in on depositions if they do not disrupt the deposition process," Lamar's spokeswoman Lisa Roberson wrote in an e-mail. "However, this isn't a common practice."

Kaufman expressed frustration with the way the Orange County Sheriff's Office investigated the case that resulted in the lewd and lascivious molestation charge against Chartrand.

According to Kaufman and a taped deposition, the lead investigator, Kevin Kraubetz, never interviewed the victim before charging Chartrand.

Another deputy with the Sheriff's Office interviewed the girl earlier, according to a Feb. 29 report detailing the incident.

"Is it normal for you not to talk to the victim?" Kaufman asked Kraubetz during the deposition.

"In this case at the time, I did not need to talk to the victim," Kraubetz said. "I got what I needed from the mother by what she said."

Neither Kraubetz nor the victim's mother would comment.

In his arrest report, Kraubetz said Chartrand told him he might have "inadvertently" touched the girl's breast.

Kraubetz also noted that the Disney worker had apologized and hoped the victim would forgive him.

Tampa attorney Todd Foster confirmed that he spoke with the victim's family about the criminal case and a possible lawsuit.

"They didn't hire me to file suit," Foster said. "They were just seeking information. We didn't do anything with it."

After Chartrand's arrest, the Sheriff's Office said it had received about two-dozen similar complaints involving guests and alleged fondling by cast members. To date, no additional charges have been filed in those cases, but they remain active investigations, the Sheriff's Office said.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-731tigger,0,2476787.story?coll=sfla-news-florida

 

[Kondoru]

Curiouser and Couriouser....

people like this need to be delibretly abandoned in the fog to knock the Bounce out of them...

 

[Anonymous]

Having been to Disney land some time ago, and seeing the costumed characters awkwardly prancing around and being 'amusing', I find it difficult to belive that someone in one of those suits could find a breast, let alone find and fondle 2 seperate ones.

And if indeed the father of the child saw his wife and daughter being touched up in front of him, why did he not lay the offender out ?

Perhaps this was a novel way to make money from Disney, on my next holiday I am going to attempt to get Captain Hook done for assault with a deadly weapon.

Perhaps I will get that ferrari after all.

 

[Stormkhan]

Ages ago, back in the mists of time, I can remember being told that all the Disney characters were played by women, including Micky, Goofy etc. just to prevent any potential "unpleasantness" with children. Yeah, I know ... there can be female perverts but this isn't as common as male paedophiles.

Obviously, I was misinformed. Perhaps they used to only employ women but relaxed the employment rules due to equal opportunities or something?

Hey, Emps!

The new video was shot in December 2002 and shows ANOTHER groper in the tiger suit.

Erm ... how could they tell? Personalised tigger suits? Big labels on the neck reading "Groper One" and "Groper Two"?

 

[Kondoru]

I still think it should be encouraged, its so in-character after all.

And think what a thrill it would give young children, old ladies, teenagers and the just plain prudish.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Stormkhan: Well they probbaly only had one Tigger working at the time but Tigger has been found innocent and that was one of the argeuments in his defence:

'Tigger' worker acquitted of fondling teen

Man who portrayed Disney character wants job back

Thursday, August 5, 2004 Posted: 0849 GMT (1649 HKT)



ORLANDO, Florida (AP) -- A Walt Disney World worker who portrayed the character Tigger was acquitted Wednesday of charges he fondled a 13-year-old girl while posing for a photo with the teen and her mother.

Jurors found Michael Chartrand not guilty of lewd and lascivious molestation, a felony, after deliberating for less than one hour. He had faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Chartrand hugged his attorneys when he heard the verdict.

Earlier this week, he rejected a plea offer that would have given him probation.

Outside court, Chartrand, a native of England who lost his fiance and had been suspended without pay after his arrest, said he'd like his job back, but that the experience "has ruined my dream to be a character."

Disney spokesman Bill Warren said, "We can have a conversation with him, but at this point we really don't have a comment."

Prosecutor Will Jay and members of the girl's family left court without commenting.

During closing arguments earlier Wednesday, a defense attorney donned a Tigger costume in the courtroom in an effort to show jurors how difficult it is to maneuver and see in the outfit.

Defense attorney Jeffrey Kaufman -- who also moonlights as Tigger and Goofy at Walt Disney World -- first strapped on Tigger's tail and then put on a neck cloth, the enormous orange-and-black striped head, and two large orange mitts to show jurors how the costume limits peripheral vision and arm movements.

Jurors said the tactic had no effect on their decision. "There was no evidence to convict," juror Zach Kauffman said. "They couldn't even prove who was behind the Tigger mask."

On the stand, Chartrand answered "no" when asked if he had ever touched anyone inappropriately while working as a costumed Disney character. His testimony and acquittal came on the third day of his trial.

Chartrand, 36, said he wrote a letter of apology to the girl, but only at the urging of a detective investigating the case. The detective told him it would make the girl feel better, even though Chartrand said he did not remember the girl.

"I believe (the detective) was trying to get me to admit to something I would never do -- fondling or groping a female," Chartrand testified.

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 touched her breast during the visit to Disney World last February, although no criminal charges followed her allegation.

Under questioning from Kaufman, the mother conceded that she had met with a lawyer about the case. But asked if she thought she could make a lot of money from Disney, she told Kaufman, "No, I didn't."

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/LAW/08/04/tigger.trial.ap/index.html

 

[Kondoru]

Chartrand hugged his attorneys when he heard the verdict.

AAAAHHHHH!!!

 

[Kondoru]

Popeyes nearly 75...he was pensioned off years ago.

And who eats `spinach` these days??

<Homo Aves pokes suspiciously at broccoli on sunday roast plate.>

But to return to those Anime characters (some of whom make even hardened decadents like Tigger look chaste) I was told by an Ex pat in Japan that actualy many of them are REAL PEOPLE masquerading as cartoon characters....

and a lot of the male ones have side jobs putting on gay acts for bored Tokyo widows...the straighter the better.