A BRITISH convicted paedophile who allegedly staged a fake wedding to a nine-year-old girl at Disneyland Paris has accused fellow inmates of setting fire to his mattress while in custody.
Jaskarn “Jacky” Jhaj, 40, from Feltham, West London, was previously convicted in 2016 of sexual activity with two 15-year-old girls.
Police at the time described him as a “dangerous sexual predator.”
He has been on the sex offenders register ever since and is wanted in the UK for breaching both a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a Sex Offenders’ Register notification requirement.
Jhaj was arrested in France after allegedly paying £111,000 to stage a fake wedding at Disneyland Paris.
The lavish event featured live musicians, a wedding cake, and chairs for hundreds of guests.
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Police were tipped off by a man who claimed he was paid £10,500 to play the “father of the bride.”
He told investigators that he only realised “at the last minute” that the bride was a child.
The girl, a Ukrainian minor, had arrived in France just two days before the ceremony.
Posing as a 22-year-old groom, Jhaj allegedly hired professional make-up artists to disguise his appearance.
According to sources in Paris, footage showed guests waiting as a violin trio played before park staff noticed the “scared and confused” young girl wearing a bridal dress and four-inch heels taped to her feet.
The fake guests were reportedly recruited online via adverts seeking “200 adults and 100 children aged five to 15 to play the crowd at a chic and elegant wedding rehearsal.”
Each person was allegedly paid €200.
Disneyland Paris told The Parisian the event was immediately shut down, and guests were stopped from entering the park.
Prosecutor Jean-Baptiste Bladier confirmed that Jhaj is also being investigated for “corruption of a minor.”
He said Jhaj “disguised himself to play the role of the groom, having made up his face professionally.”
Authorities say Jhaj used false documents and the identity of a Latvian national to secure the Disneyland booking.
The girl’s mother was later arrested, with reports claiming she wanted her daughter to feel like a Disney “princess” for the day.
However, it was revealed that Jhaj had been in contact with the family for over a year, sending money and gifts and even paying for a family holiday.
The French prosecutor said the young girl had not been subjected to “physical or sexual violence” and had not been “forced to play the role of the bride.”
Jhaj is currently awaiting trial in France on separate charges of fraud, breach of trust, money laundering, and identity theft.
Authorities are conducting computer and mobile phone forensics as part of their investigation.
His lawyer, Etienne Arnaud, attempted to secure £26,000 bail and judicial supervision, but the request was denied.
Although his detention was not supposed to extend beyond October 23, the trial judge extended it due to Jhaj’s criminal history in England.
During a hearing at the Meaux judicial court, Arnaud requested a closed session to exclude the press, in which he claimed Jhaj had been a “victim of violence” from other inmates, including an incident in which his mattress was set on fire.
“On June 21, it was simply the filming of a movie. My client was one of the actors. He was in no way the organiser,” Arnaud said.
“And he wasn’t the one financing the filming. We’re trying to make up offences that don’t amount to anything.”
The hearing was temporarily suspended when it emerged that Jhaj could not speak French, before resuming via video call.
The court ruled that he would remain in custody for at least four more months.
This is not the first time Jhaj has orchestrated disturbing stunts involving children.
In 2023, he staged a fake red-carpet event in Leicester Square, hiring 90 children and dozens of teenagers to act as cheering fans.
Teenage girls told the BBC they were instructed to scream and try to touch him – unaware of his true identity.
The organiser – “Project BRT” – hired 90 children aged six to 14 through the agency Jam 200, and another 100 young women aged 16 to 24 via Uni-versal Extras.
Jhaj was later arrested on suspicion of breaching a sexual harm prevention order and released on bail.
In September 2024, he reportedly staged another stunt — an explosion using an old BBC truck and Union Jack-draped vehicles, filming himself naked as flames erupted behind him.
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The incident caused widespread panic and hundreds of emergency calls from locals fearing a terrorist attack.
Probation officers have repeatedly warned that Jhaj poses a grooming risk to female children, while investigators continue to question how he financed his elaborate productions and who is footing the bill for the large casts and crews he employs.