'Tigger' arrested on molestation charges

[CujoSR]

Costumed character at Disney World charged with fondling girl, mother.

By Anthony Colarossi | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted April 2, 2004, 4:49 PM EST

Orange County Sheriff's Office investigators have arrested a Walt Disney World employee who worked as the character "Tigger" and charged him with molesting a 13-year-old girl and her mother while posing with them for pictures in February.

Michael Chartrand, 36, was charged with one count of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child between 12 and 15 years old and one count of simple battery. (Read More)

[SpaceRanger]

:shock:

[pixiedust]

Yeek.

I remember Tigger was making suggestive growling noises at me once when I took a picture.. lol. This is a little more serious I guess.

[GuyFromTheBigSplashyRide]

A friend of mine was working tigger about a year ago when a little girl with her father came up to take their picture with him, but the little girl was scared and didn't want to approach. So the father, trying to show that tigger wasn't going to hurt her began to rub different part of Tigger's body.

"See? Rub Tigger's head...no problem"

"Rub tiggers arms... see honey?"

"Rub tigger's belly..." :shock:

At this point, the cast member shifts uncomfortably... and for anyone who knows anything about the tigger costume, the belly for guy is right at crotch level. Soon after, the father realized this, turned beat red and left.

Heh, imagine explaining that one to his wife later on

[hulkcoaster]

Ha! :D Serves him right for treating Tigger like his bitch. When he felt the umm..object... he must have been suprised

[CujoSR]

BY ANTHONY COLAROSSI

The Orlando Sentinel


ORLANDO, Fla. - (KRT) - Don't talk bad about Tigger in front of 16-year-old Elizabeth Fitzgerald. She's a serious fan of Winnie the Pooh's bouncy pal.

Elizabeth arrived at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom Friday wearing oversized Tigger ears on her head and carrying a small, stuffed Tigger under her arm. She even had cat whiskers painted on her face.

Collecting hugs in Toon Town from a Disney cast member dressed as Tigger, Elizabeth said she was unaware of allegations that one or more people playing Tigger had molested Disney guests while on vacation.

"If Tigger ever touched me that way, I'd smack him," Elizabeth said plainly.

But as far as the teenager from Jacksonville, Fla., was concerned, Tigger was behaving appropriately Friday - or as appropriate as a character that is supposed to be made of rubber and springs ought to behave.

"He just gave me a hug, two hugs because he knew that I was a Tigger fan," the girl said.

But after authorities arrested Michael C. Chartrand on April 2, on charges that he molested a 13-year-old girl and her mother during a February visit to the theme park, Orange County, Fla., sheriff's investigators said they received another 24 complaints of similar inappropriate touching. And most of the cases appear to involve people playing Tigger.

The Orlando Sentinel has been contacted by two women making similar claims involving Tigger.

But many visitors grabbing snapshots and signatures from Disney characters in the Toon Town Fair Hall of Fame Friday didn't even know about the controversy. Parents and children approached the Tigger character standing in one photo area the same way they did Pooh and Eeyore.

When posing with children and adults, Tigger patted shoulders and heads, keeping his paws in safe places. And no one interviewed indicated they had any problems with cast members.

"We've seen Tigger a lot, and he's been great with the kids," said Nancy Riccardo from West Chester, Pa., who has been at Disney World all week with 10 grandchildren.

Riccardo fears that a problem with one person might have maligned the image of A.A. Milne's classic storybook character.

"It's a shame for the Tigger," Riccardo said. "That's screwing it up for everybody."

Vicky Weidner said initial the Tigger episode made news back home in Plymouth, Mass. Weidner, 46, says she has visited Disney World six times and posed for pictures with all the major characters, including Tigger, without incident

"I think that they had an employee problem ... possibly a single employee problem," Weidner said. "And it seems like now they are making sure that every character has an escort. I was sort of watching for it. It's like nobody's alone."

Chartrand, 36, of St. Cloud, Fla., has been suspended from his job and is out of jail on $2,500 bond.

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."

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© 2004, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).