ORLANDO, Fla. -- A Walt Disney World worker on Wednesday denied ever touching a 13-year-old girl's clothed breast while he posed with her and her mother for photos dressed as the beloved character Tigger.
Michael Chartrand answered "no" when asked if he had ever touched anyone inappropriately while working as a costumed character at the theme park resort. Chartrand testified on the third day of his trial on battery and lewd and lascivious molestation charges.
Chartrand, 36, 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.
Prosecutor Will Jay has contended that Chartrand liked to have his picture taken with young women and teenage girls while playing Disney characters. Chartrand turned over to investigators hundreds of images of himself and others dressed in costume posing with visitors. During his testimony, Chartrand told jurors that he took the pictures to send to his relatives in England and for his manager.
Jurors were 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.
Attorney Grills Victim's Mother
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.
The defense hopes that the jury will find the mother's testimony unreliable, according to the report.
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 be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison. Earlier this week, he rejected a plea offer that would have given him only probation.
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Attorney Grills Victim's Mother In Tigger Molestation Trial
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