Just before Christmas, authorities investigated a disturbing complaint: An adult had struck a child in the face with a dog leash at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Nobody appears to have been arrested. The state attorney’s office said last week it does not have any releasable public records on the sheriff’s case.
The situation happened December 14. It took the Orange County Sheriff’s Office nearly four months to release the incident report. The public record is heavily redacted, so it’s unknown how old the child was, the adult’s identity, and other details in the sheriff’s investigation.
But what WDWNT does know is that a Disney security guard witnessed the situation and gave a statement to the sheriff’s office.
The security guard said he noticed the family walking to the entrance of the park from the Disney Skyliner.
“The adult male wearing a white shirt, tan pants, and tan shoes struck the juvenile male, wearing all blue, with the free end of a red dog leash,’ according to the sheriff’s report. “Said action occurred after the adult had a misstep while the juvenile crossed in front of him. This action occurred after the adult recovered from the misstep and appeared to be a deliberate action, as he intentionally struck the child across the face with the leash.”
The boy, who was crying, had a small red mark under his right eye.
The man, who used a service dog, denied he struck the child intentionally and told authorities he didn’t see the child when the child walked in front of him.
The man had a full knee replacement, and his “fake knee” buckled, and he saw a “flash.” He stumbled and almost fell, he went on to say.
The man told law enforcement, “he has a habit of swinging the leash of the service animal in his hand,” the report said.
DCF was contacted. The child’s injury was documented and photographed.
“I am unable to determine if a crime has occurred and this report will be forwarded to Domestic Crimes for further review,” the sheriff’s deputy wrote in the report.
WDWNT recently reported on another incident involving an adult inappropriately using a leash on a child at a Disney park. A TikTok user shared a video of a woman dragging a child on a leash on the ground at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland.
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