Keep Tigger out of sex trial, Disney asks
To protect the frenetic feline's innocent image, a Disney lawyer has suggested that the orange Tigger costume be dyed black or white and its ears be removed. The lawyer made the request to the attorney representing Michael C. Chartrand in the trial that was scheduled to start today.
Chartrand was suspended after he was charged with molesting a 13-year-old girl in February at Disney World's Toon Town while he was dressed as Tigger, a character from A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh books.
Any case in which a child's storybook character is linked to a sex crime is bound to be strange. But the arrest was just the prelude of what now promises to be a bizarre courtroom showdown.
Chartrand's lawyer, Jeffrey Kaufman Jr., also has played Tigger at Disney and works part time as a costumed character at the theme park. He said he reached out to Chartrand because he thought he was uniquely qualified to defend him.
"No attorney on the planet could represent this guy better than me in this case," he said.
Prosecutors hope to use as evidence about 200 photographs of tourists posing with Tigger and other characters. But the defense claims there's no way to prove Chartrand was in all the photos.
The victim's family has contacted a lawyer about suing Disney. It is the threat of such litigation and the fear of bad publicity that has Disney in full damage-control mode.
"Disney doesn't want this costume out there," Kaufman said. "They want to protect their copyright. They want to take off everything that would make it look like Tigger."
Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Polak confirmed that company attorneys had expressed concern to both Orange-Osceola Florida State Attorney Lawson Lamar and to Kaufman about using the Tigger costume during the trial.
"Our hope is that the use of our costume will be handled with appropriate sensitivity so as to preserve the dreams and magic for our younger guests as much as possible," she said.
However, Polak would not comment on Kaufman's statement that a Disney attorney had suggested taking off Tigger's ears or coloring the costume.
Kaufman said he refused to let the costume be changed because an altered Tigger suit might reflect poorly on his client, making him look demonic or freakish.
Kaufman said he expects jurors to take the costume with them during deliberations, where they could handle it and put on the mask and gloves. Kaufman said he hopes by doing that they would be able to tell how difficult it would be to grope a young girl.
The suits are often bulky and limit the wearer's sight, say Kaufman and others who have played characters. Kaufman compared the Tigger paws to "oven mitts," with the thumb separated from the other fingers.
Lamar's office confirmed that Disney officials expressed concern about using Tigger's costume in court. Prosecutors said they will not use the costume.
The State Attorney's Office also confirmed that a Disney attorney had sat in on some depositions for witnesses in the case.
In his arrest report, lead investigator Kevin Kraubetz said Chartrand told him he might have "inadvertently" touched the girl's breast. He also noted that Chartrand had apologized and hoped the victim would forgive him.
After Chartrand's arrest, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said it had received about two dozen similar complaints involving guests and alleged groping by cast members. No charges have been filed in those cases, but they remain active investigations, the Sheriff's Office said.