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Lawsuit filed against Disney regarding ex-employee who allegedly filmed up girl's dress

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Published  March 25, 2025 8:49am EDT
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FOX 35 Orlando

Disney faces lawsuit in 2023 investigation of former employee

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc. is facing a lawsuit related to the 2023 investigation of a former employee accused of filming videos up the skirts and dresses of female guests, according to investigative documents recently filed in Orange County Clerk of Court.

The Brief

    • A lawsuit has been filed against Walt Disney World Resort over a 2023 investigation into a former employee accused of secretly filming female guests. The plaintiff claims the man, who was employed at Hollywood Studios at the time, took a photo or video up her 14-year-old granddaughter's dress while she was in a store.
    • The woman alleges Disney should have known the man was unfit for his job and posed a risk to guests, employees, and minors, referencing a prior incident where he allegedly recorded a female co-worker, which had been reported to a Disney supervisor.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - A lawsuit has been filed against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc. in connection with a 2023 investigation into a former Florida employee accused of filming up the skirts of female guests.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff, a family member of one of the alleged victims, claims that Disney failed to take sufficient action to protect its theme park guests from being subjected to the alleged video voyeurism of former Disney employee Jorge Diaz Vega.

What happened?

The backstory:

On March 30, 2023, a deputy with the Orange County Sheriff's Office responded to Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios after a woman alerted Disney security, that a man dressed in a Star Wars uniform had used his cell phone to take a photo up her granddaughter's dress. The incident reportedly happened when they stopped to look at toys in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge merchandise store, according to investigative documents.

Her granddaughter was 14 at the time. The man was not immediately identified, according to the report.

Booking photo of Jorge Diaz Vega (Credit: Orange County jail)

The next day, Orange County deputies responded to the same theme park after an employee reported witnessing Diaz Vega recording an "upskirt" video of a 19-year-old female guest, according to an arrest report.

MORE HEADLINES:

Diaz Vega, employed at the Star Wars retail store at the time, admitted to recording videos of female Disney World guests for approximately six years, authorities said. 

He further told investigators that recording these videos had become a "guilty pleasure" for him and estimated that he had 600 such videos saved on his phone, which he showed to investigators, according to officials. 

Diaz Vega was arrested for video voyeurism, records show. 

Lawsuit claims Disney should have done more

Latest developments:

An 18-page lawsuit was filed last week in the Circuit Court of the Ninth Judicial Circuit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc., by the plaintiff – the victim's grandparent.

The suit alleges that prior to the incident with the 14-year-old girl in March 2023, Diaz Vega was allegedly caught recording a female co-worker, which was reported to a Disney supervisor.

‘Failed to take appropriate action’

What they're saying:

The lawsuit also claims that Disney knew or should have known that Diaz Vega was unfit for his position and the potential danger he posed to the theme park's guests, employees, and minors.

The suit also alleges that the theme park failed to investigate Diaz Vega's employment record and did not "adequately supervise" him despite a prior report of recording or photographing a co-worker without consent.

FOX 35 News has reached out to both Disney and the attorneys who filed the new lawsuit for comment. We're waiting to hear back.

What's next:

The plaintiff is requesting a judgment of more than $50,000 and is demanding a jury trial.

Suspect is facing 3 cases of video voyeurism

Dig deeper:

According to court records, Diaz Vega is facing two charges of video voyeurism in Orange County in connection with the incident involving the 14-year-old girl mentioned in the lawsuit and a 19-year-old female park guest, both of which took place in March 2023 at Walt Disney's Hollywood Studios.

He has entered pleas of not guilty in both cases and is scheduled for a competency status hearing on May 7.

Competency status hearings are held to determine whether a defendant is mentally competent to stand trial.

Diaz Vega is also facing a third video voyeurism case in Osceola County, stemming from a June 2023 incident that occurred at a Publix on Pleasant Hill Road in Kissimmee, while he was out on bond. In this case, deputies reported that a shopper caught Diaz Vega filming under his wife’s dress and, shortly afterward, witnessed him doing the same to another woman, according to court documents.

When confronted, the husband recalled Diaz Vega saying: "I have been fired for this before. Please don't call the police. I promise I will delete the pictures."

Osceola County court records show he is set to have a competency hearing on Wednesday at 10 a.m. 

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The Source: This story was written based on a lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of the Ninth Judicial Circuit in and for Orange County, Florida. Additional details were provided by an Orange County Sheriff's Office investigative documents. 

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