Man Arrested for Allegedly Groping a Face Character in WDW

[King Panda 77]

I am really shocked to see someone on a Disney fan forum say something like that.

See my post above yours

 

[KBLovedDisney]

I think it would be good if Disney doesn't allow adults to do M and G's. It's time for people to grow up. You're not really meeting the characters from the films. They are Castmembers.

 

[Phil12]

You gonna deny a special needs adult from seeing a character because of their physical age?

Good point. One could reasonably argue that any adult that wants to meet a character has special needs too! And of course those persons with intellectual disabilities should be given priority to meet the characters.

 

[Goofy213]

Could disney use the fingerprint scanners to identify registered sex offenders? I know it could tell the difference between my right and left fingers. So it must have enough capability to recognize one persons finger from another? Given this it could tell if that person had a questionable record by the digitally stored fingerprint taken upon conviction. I know as a parent I would feel more comfortable knowing that such people would not be allowed around my child.

 

[BromBones]

Good point. One could reasonably argue that any adult that wants to meet a character has special needs too! And of course those persons with intellectual disabilities should be given priority to meet the characters.

But then you're in real trouble if the mentally disabled guest gropes a face character.
They really shouldn't split hairs. They should simply enforce a no touching policy.

 

[Polydweller]

Could disney use the fingerprint scanners to identify registered sex offenders? I know it could tell the difference between my right and left fingers. So it must have enough capability to recognize one persons finger from another? Given this it could tell if that person had a questionable record by the digitally stored fingerprint taken upon conviction. I know as a parent I would feel more comfortable knowing that such people would not be allowed around my child.

The scanners are finger scanners not fingerprint scanners. They use lasers to in essence take a picture of the contours of your finger and create an identifier number. Many people will say they are fingerprints but they aren’t and are not close to the uniqueness of fingerprints. The uniqueness is about 1 in 1000 have the same finger scan number. So, it can’t be used to compare to fingerprints on file.

 

[BromBones]

I think it would be good if Disney doesn't allow adults to do M and G's. It's time for people to grow up. You're not really meeting the characters from the films. They are Castmembers.

You might want to talk to Disney about that. Their policy is very clear regarding people playing face characters. They are not to refer to themselves as the face characters. They are never to break the illusion. Even if they share photos of themselves on social media performing as a face character they must refer to that face character by the character's name. Example: Young woman plays Elsa. She shares a photo of herself dressed as Elsa on Instagram. She writes, "Elsa looks beautiful today. She had such a good time meeting the guests."

You cannot break the illusion. You are meeting the characters as far as Disney is concerned.

 

[LAKid53]

What if you were asking to be punched ?

Then you're an idiot.... Not you, personally. You're a sweet ferret.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Are you suggesting the sensationalism of sex on TV and movies shares no blame on human behavior? People like to blame gun violence on video games and music, but date rape Jersey Shore gets a pass?

I didn't place any blame on her. I believe bad sexual behavior is promoted on tv for humor and coolness factors.

It's complicated. On one hand we have the over-saturation of sex being thrown at our youth. On the other side, sex is a natural thing and to suppress the normalcy can be harmful too. Then there's the whole issue of censorship and who gets to draw the lines? What 'trash' do you eliminate? Think about it. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

Focusing on boundaries and consent is good because it works at changing mentalities proactively. So even when people are exposed to fantasy sex through media, they also have a full understanding of sexual boundaries in the reality of their daily lives.

It's impossible* to make any affect by adjusting the media because what do we remove and how could we ever remove all of whatever that is? We need to approach it from the other end... how we think about it in our actual normal lives. Separate it from the fantasy.

*I shouldn't say impossible, what I mean is it's an insurmountable task.

In the case of people who aren't just bad/evil to begin with, I think a lack of understanding of boundaries and what is/is not appropriate can be attributed to education level and the attitudes of their family. Television/film/news media certainly don't help, but it all starts at home and continues with education.

 

[LAKid53]

Fun pictures? I always question the motives of adults that want to pose with any Disney character.

Really? There are several pictures of me with characters, both face and full costume. I'm hugging Mickey, Pluto, Pooh, Donald, Daisy, Aurora, Snow White.... And I gave C3P0 a big hug. After I patted R2 on the head. And threatened Vader with my lightsaber.

 

[LAKid53]

In the case of people who aren't just bad/evil to begin with, I think a lack of understanding of boundaries and what is/is not appropriate can be attributed to education level and the attitudes of their family. Television/film/news media certainly don't help, but it all starts at home and continues with education.

The man's a convicted and registered sexual predator. His conviction was sexual battery on a child under the age of 12. This isn't the case of someone forgetting boundaries.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

The man's a convicted and registered sexual predator. His conviction was sexual battery on a child under the age of 12. This isn't the case of someone forgetting boundaries.

I realize that - I was commenting on people thinking it is directly the result of television. This guy is just a sleaze, plain and simple. He looks like he's abused his share of substances, too.

 

[LAKid53]

I realize that - I was commenting on people thinking it is directly the result of television. This guy is just a sleaze, plain and simple. He looks like he's abused his share of substances, too.

Yeah. Don't blame TV, movies or the costume the CM was wearing. The guy's a predator. Blame him. Hopefully, given his prior conviction and registration, he'll be in jail for some time.

 

[Phil12]

But then you're in real trouble if the mentally disabled guest gropes a face character.
They really shouldn't split hairs. They should simply enforce a no touching policy.

You really can't hold intellectually disabled persons to the same standards as "normal" folks when engaging in social interactions. Forming a train of thought and holding onto it can be very difficult if not impossible for people with intellectual disabilities. They may blurt out inappropriate responses or say things that are not at all in context with the conversation. They don't mean to be rude but it's just the way their brain works. And they may touch you in a manner that is inappropriate as well.

We think nothing if a small child touches "private" areas of our body because we understand that the child doesn't know about proper social interactions. We expect that the child will learn about proper social touching and will modify their behavior as they grow. But some intellectually disabled people also don't know about the boundaries of social touching and they are forty years of age. They are never going to learn because due to some cruel misfortune their brains are "stuck" at a rudimentary development level.

I have seen various Disney characters (including face characters) interact with intellectually disabled people. The CM's do a wonderful job and it's obvious that Disney provides the CM's with training on how to deal with this type of challenge. In my book, children and intellectually disabled persons should always be permitted to have front of the line access to meet and greet characters. Because you and I have the good fortune to be "normal", it is our responsibility to help make sure that children and people with disabilities be given any help that we can provide to make their lives a little better.

 

[BromBones]

You really can't hold intellectually disabled persons to the same standards as "normal" folks when engaging in social interactions. Forming a train of thought and holding onto it can be very difficult if not impossible for people with intellectual disabilities. They may blurt out inappropriate responses or say things that are not at all in context with the conversation. They don't mean to be rude but it's just the way their brain works. And they may touch you in a manner that is inappropriate as well.

We think nothing if a small child touches "private" areas of our body because we understand that the child doesn't know about proper social interactions. We expect that the child will learn about proper social touching and will modify their behavior as they grow. But some intellectually disabled people also don't know about the boundaries of social touching and they are forty years of age. They are never going to learn because due to some cruel misfortune their brains are "stuck" at a rudimentary development level.

I have seen various Disney characters (including face characters) interact with intellectually disabled people. The CM's do a wonderful job and it's obvious that Disney provides the CM's with training on how to deal with this type of challenge. In my book, children and intellectually disabled persons should always be permitted to have front of the line access to meet and greet characters. Because you and I have the good fortune to be "normal", it is our responsibility to help make sure that children and people with disabilities be given any help that we can provide to make their lives a little better.

I see your point, but you also have to keep in mind that it's not just the mentally disabled person that may touch inappropriately, but the person being touched. Regardless of who is doing the touching some people will really have a problem with that.

 

[Victor Kelly]

Good point. One could reasonably argue that any adult that wants to meet a character has special needs too! And of course those persons with intellectual disabilities should be given priority to meet the characters.

Well then sport, maybe you should not be going to Disney then. I mean, afterall, why is an adult going ti Disney at all? Having kids is really no excuse to be going.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Good point. One could reasonably argue that any adult that wants to meet a character has special needs too!

We are all a member of the Disney fan community. Many of us enjoy meeting Disney characters when visiting the parks. It seems like a pretty mean spirited remark that an adult has special needs for wanting to meet a character.

Honestly.... it’s pretty hurtful. As an adult I remember standing in line with my mom to get photos with the Winnie the Pooh gang (and for those who say only face characters count... Christopher Robin was there!) because my mom wanted a photo with the characters in their Halloween outfits. To suggest that me and my mom have special needs because of that desire is extremely hurtful.

Peoples actions matter. Groping a character is not ok. Words matter to. Suggesting someone has a mental problem for wanting to get a photo with a Disney character is not ok in my book.

 

[MAGICFLOP]

I think I am going to wait and see how this turns out. I grew up in a different America and was not a witness to this, so I will condemn no one. I would like to see how it plays out.. speculations are very harmful...

Getting arrested is easy, anyone women could point out a man in Disney, tell security and they are arrested...

 

[LAKid53]

I think I am going to wait and see how this turns out. I grew up in a different America and was not a witness to this, so I will condemn no one. I would like to see how it plays out.. speculations are very harmful...

Getting arrested is easy, anyone women could point out a man in Disney, tell security and they are arrested...

Except there were other cast members present.....

 

[mergatroid]

I think I am going to wait and see how this turns out. I grew up in a different America and was not a witness to this, so I will condemn no one. I would like to see how it plays out.. speculations are very harmful...

Getting arrested is easy, anyone women could point out a man in Disney, tell security and they are arrested...

Whilst this is very true it would seem a very strange thing for a CM to do to make up a story about a man grabbing her breast if he didn't. It doesn't make him guilty (though his picture doesn't help him if we're being honest), however a false claim would usually follow a more private meeting such as a failed date rather than a public meeting (just to clarify, this isn't from personal experience and I'm no expert on unwanted groping).

I can't see many scenarios where a public meeting between somebody who has to remain in character and a bloke who looks like a serial sex offender would result in a false claim? You would think for a false claim to be made at the very least something inappropriate would have to have been said to the CM to trigger her to do that, a typical 'chat' between the two shouldn't be enough? Maybe that will be his defence, "I told her she had a great rack and she took exception to my 'flirty banter' and falsely accused me of groping her" could be his claim. Otherwise why would anyone believe she'd just made it up unless they can prove she has a history of doing this.

In short of course he could be innocent, but it doesn't really look good for him right now.