A 51 year-old Florida man was arrested and charged with battery after allegedly inappropriately groping a character at WDW. Brian Sherman of Orlando was visiting the park with his wife when the couple decided to do a meet and greet with the unnamed cast member dressed as a princess.
According to the official police report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Sherman was arrested shortly after the couple approached a Disney princess cast member at a meet and greet location for a photo. According to the report, after Sherman told her repeatedly he “loved her character,” and made her immediately uncomfortable, but the princess ended up stuck seated in-between him and his wife when the indecent incident occurred.
He (Sherman) put his arm around the princess and then moved his hand lower “so that he could cup the victim’s bra with his right hand.” The police report stated Sherman cupped her breast “with his right forefinger and thumb with only the thin skin-tight fabric in between her breast and the defendant’s thumb and forefinger.” The incident happened only over the course of 3 or 4 seconds, and Cast Members told him to move his hand, but the damage was done, and the entire incident was captured by the photographer. The photos taken by staff of the incident became helpful to law enforcement in catching Sherman afterwards.
“When the defendant left the room the victim began shaking and crying,” according to the official statement, and she agreed to press charges and testify against him. Sherman is no strangers to disgusting behavior and can be found on the sex offender registry in Orlando, having a sexual battery charge on his record from 1991 on a child under 12.
In a statement provided from spokesperson Jacquee Wahler, it was confirmed park officials stepped in quickly after the alleged incident. “Orange County Sheriff’s Office was on site and immediately stepped in, and this is now a law enforcement matter,” the statement read. “Everyone should feel safe at work, and we encourage Cast Members to come forward in any uncomfortable situation.”