A former Walt Disney World employee, facing charges that he surreptitiously took a video up the skirt of a female customer, has allegedly revealed that he did it over 500 times in the last six years. The accused was seen shooting a video of an 18-year-old woman's skirt by a witness. The incident was later reported to the security officers of the theme park. The 26-year-old accused, Jorge Diaz Vega, used to work at the Star Wars gift shop inside Disney World's Hollywood Studios theme park in Florida until his acts of video voyeurism came to light.
According to Associated Press, Mr Vega has admitted that he used to shoot the video in the past as well and that it was a "guilty pleasure" for him. Multiple videos of such acts have also been recovered from his cell phone.
Mr Vega was arrested on March 31 and later released on bail. The office of the Orange County Sheriff has refused to comment on whether or not the investigators will be pressing for more serious charges.
Walt Disney has said that the accused no longer works with them. The company or the investigators have not confirmed if they will be trying to ascertain the identity of other women whose videos have been recovered from the accused's phone.
The incident comes as a jolt to Disney's public image at a time when reports of the company's probable plans of layoff have been surfacing. According to Bloomberg, Walt Disney Co. is planning to lay off nearly 1,000 employees this week, affecting jobs in TV, films, theme parks, and corporate theme. The possible layoff will affect every sector in which Disney operates.
The company had already fired over 7,000 employees earlier this year as part of its restructuring initiatives announced by CEO Bob Iger. With the restructuring, the company aims to save $5.5 billion including $1.5 billion in operating costs and another $3 billion from reductions in non-sports content.
