Sex Offender Groped Princess Ariel, Cops Say

NOVEMBER 6--A convicted sex offender groped a Disney World cast member dressed as Princess Ariel, according to police who arrested the man on a battery charge.

Investigators say Brian Sherman, 51, and his wife were at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom Saturday afternoon when the couple sought to be photographed with the female cast member, according to an Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit.

With the couple flanking her, the worker told cops, a “very excited” Sherman first placed his arm around her shoulder as he told her how much he loved Ariel.

The Disney worker, who said she was pinned between the couple, told police that she was uncomfortable because she “has been trained by Disney that it is inappropriate to photograph a Disney princess when a guest has their arm wrapped around the princess character.”

The victim, the affidavit notes, “was immediately uncomfortable with the defendant’s touch but was unable to move.”

Sherman, cops allege, then reached around the woman and “cupped and lifted” her right breast for several seconds. The victim said that only a “thin skin-tight fabric” separated her bare breast from “the defendant’s thumb and forefinger.”

The alleged battery took place inside Ariel’s Grotto, where a rotation of female cast members dressed as the star of “The Little Mermaid” greet and pose with visitors while seated on a bench. The Disney employees wear a red wig, a purple clamshell bra, and a green fishtail.

Noting that the worker was uncomfortable sandwiched between Sherman (seen above) and his spouse, a Disney photographer and another employee directed Sherman to move his hand away from the woman and pose more appropriately.

After Sherman left, the victim “began shaking and crying,” prompting another Disney employee to shut the grotto attraction.

Sherman was subsequently identified by cops thanks to a photo taken inside the grotto by a Disney worker. He was arrested Saturday evening at his Orlando residence and charged with battery, a misdemeanor. He was released from the county jail Monday night after posting $500 bond.

Sherman was convicted in 1991 on four felonies related to the sexual abuse of victims under the age of 12. Sherman was sentenced to a two-year “house arrest program” for sex offenders and placed on probation for 15 years. While his probation supervision was terminated in late-2006, Sherman is still subject to registration as a sex offender. (2 pages)