tigger found not guilty

[ez]

good for him

 

[mickey4ver]

Originally posted by ez
good for him

I couldn't agree more! What a farce...

 

[Mermaid02]

Would this be "groping Tigger" ?? That was quick!

 

[mickey4ver]

Originally posted by Mermaid02
Would this be "groping Tigger" ?? That was quick!

yep, and as far as I'm concerned, there was very little to debate on his guilt....

Hi Mermaid02 how ya been!!!

 

[Mermaid02]

I'm doing well- how about yourself?
I avoided most of this Tigger story- kinda ruined the magic for me!

 

[Feralpeg]

I wonder what will happen with the civil case the woman has filed against Disney. I sure hope it gets dismissed. I'd hate to see Disney give money to these people. I wonder if they will give him his job back.

 

[mickey4ver]

Originally posted by Mermaid02
I'm doing well- how about yourself?
I avoided most of this Tigger story- kinda ruined the magic for me!

Doing OK, miss chatting with you....bet this guy is glad this is over too...I didn't follow it too closely, just kinda heard bits and pieces of it, seemed all rather bizarre to me, at least the mother's story.

p.s. I mourned Nomar too! But you gotta move on....

 

[JESW]

One thing I wondered about the article I read.....why do you think his fiance left him??

Jill

 

[TIGGER'SFRIEND]

Thank God!!!!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

:thewave: :thewave: :thewave:

I suspected he would!!!

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

None of this story has made it to my local paper. All I know is what I have been reading here.

Did it get to the point of having the jury try on the Tigger costume? And did the judge grant Disney's request to paint it black and take the ears off, so as not to ruin the "magic" for anyone seeing these jurors getting into the costume?

What a joke, I hope now that the courts can go back to getting the real bad guys off the streets.

 

[Pop Daddy]

I think he is guilty

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Originally posted by hrh_disney_queen
None of this story has made it to my local paper. All I know is what I have been reading here.

Did it get to the point of having the jury try on the Tigger costume? And did the judge grant Disney's request to paint it black and take the ears off, so as not to ruin the "magic" for anyone seeing these jurors getting into the costume?

What a joke, I hope now that the courts can go back to getting the real bad guys off the streets.

Interestingly, his lawyer also is a character of Tigger at WDW and was scheduled to perform tonight but could not because he was waiting for the verdict.

The costume was the regular Tigger one and the lawyer did a great job of showing that it would be very difficult to do what the plaintiffs alleged happened. I just hope that the defendant gets a job back at Disney although he said that he didn't want to be a character again after this ordeal that he had to go through.

This was an unnecessary lawsuit and thankfully it was dismissed.

 

[TowerOfTerrorFreak]

*claps* I figured he wasn't guilty.But then again,he could be.But anyway,good for him.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Originally posted by WDWisTheBest

This morning the mother of the girl testified that her daughter has suffered in school and been embarrassed since the alleged incident. What was not widely reported was the mother has a history of suing large corporations such as Wal Mart.

I hope this is the end of this and Michael Chartrand can get on with his life after this unfortunate lawsuit was dismissed.

 

[LadyBears]

Posted on Wed, Aug. 04, 2004


Tigger character cleared of molestation of girl

MIKE SCHNEIDER

Associated Press


ORLANDO, Fla. - A Walt Disney World worker who portrayed the beloved character Tigger was acquitted Wednesday of touching the breast of a 13-year-old girl while posing for a photo at the Magic Kingdom.

Jurors, some of whom tried on Tigger's head during deliberations, found 36-year-old Michael Chartrand not guilty of lewd and lascivious molestation, a felony, after less than an hour. He had faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Chartrand hugged his attorneys when he heard the verdict. Outside the courtroom, Chartrand said he still wanted a job at Disney World but he didn't think he could work as a character again because of what had happened.

"It has ruined my dream to be a character," said Chartrand, a native of England who lost his fiancee and was suspended without pay from his job after his arrest. But he added, "I have no animosity toward anybody."

He said Disney had offered him no support since his arrest. When told that Chartrand wanted a job back at Disney, 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 the courtroom without commenting.

During closing arguments Wednesday, Chartrand's 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.

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.

"This is my friend Tigger," Kaufman said while pulling the Tigger costume out of a box. "It might spoil the magic for most people, you know?"

Jurors smirked but kept their composure. They were given the chance to try on the costume themselves in the jury room, and at least three did put on the head. Jurors said the defense attorney's donning of the Tigger costume had no effect on their decision.

"There was no evidence to convict," said juror Zach Kauffman. "They couldn't even prove who was behind the Tigger mask."

Kaufman told jurors that Chartrand never touched the girl's breast, and if he did, it was purely accidental.

"There is no evidence that Michael did this on purpose," Kaufman said during his closing argument.

Earlier in the day, when Kaufman asked Chartrand on the witness stand if he had ever intentionally touched the breast of a Disney guest, Chartrand said "Never!"

The teen testified Monday, saying the Disney character worker fondled her breast while she posed for a photo with him and her mother.

During the prosecution's closing argument, Jay told jurors that Chartrand was guilty of a lewd act and that acquitting him would send the wrong message.

"This is an issue about the defendant, a 36-year-old man lewdly touching a 13-year-old while at work ... portraying an innocent character like Tigger, dragging Tigger through the mud as well," Jay said.

Chartrand testified that he wrote a letter of apology to the girl, whom he said 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 said.

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

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.

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

 

[LadyBears]

Originally posted by JESW
One thing I wondered about the article I read.....why do you think his fiance left him??

Jill

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=896962004

Despite the acquittal, on the sole count of lewd and lascivious molestation, Mr Kaufman said Mr Chartrand’s life has changed forever.

The lawyer said Mr Chartrand had lost his job and his fiancée because of the stress of the case. The accused had faced up to 15 years in jail in convicted.

 

[AngieBelle]

The Orlando paper had a big pic on the front page of a guy at the trial holding up a Tigger head.....it was shameful. If a CM took a pic like that backstage, he or she would get fired.

And I hate that the media keeps saying Tigger is on trial....Tigger was not on trial- the performer was.