French travel photographer faces suspended jail sentence for ‘flying remote control drone over Disneyland Paris and deliberately hitting security guard with car’
By CHRIS KITCHING FOR MAILONLINE
A French photographer will learn his fate later this month after he allegedly flew a remote control drone over Disneyland Paris and snapped aerial images of the amusement park.
Prosecutors are seeking a six-month suspended jail sentence for the 52-year-old photographer, who is accused of illegally flying a small drone over the park and deliberately injuring a security guard with his car.
The man denies the claims, saying he was flying the drone at a park near Disneyland and did not intend to photograph the attraction east of Paris.
The drone was spotted by two Disney security guards on April 5, 2014.
One of the guards was ‘struck at low speed’ by the photographer’s vehicle as he tried to stop the man from leaving the area, court was told.
The photographer, who has specialised in aerial photography for nearly 25 years, has pleaded not guilty, telling court he was only trying to familiarise himself with flying a model drone.
The man, whose photos have been published in tourist books, told a judge yesterday: ‘I was testing to see if it was worth investing in a real drone for professional projects.’
Photos taken by the drone’s camera have been shown at the hearing in Meaux, a commune north-east of Paris.
Court was told the man was flying a leisure model that weighs less than 25kg and is not permitted to fly above 500ft and more than 328ft from the pilot, AFP reported.
A judge is scheduled to deliver a verdict on May 29.
But the drone case isn’t the end of the man’s legal troubles.
He is also accused of possessing child pornography after traces of images were found on a hard-drive seized by police.
The man claims the images were an ‘unintentional download’ as he was downloading ‘films about magic before the Hadopi law’, French anti-piracy legislation introduced in 2009.
Several holidaymakers have found themselves in trouble for flying remote control drones at or near tourist attractions in France.
Last October an Israeli tourist was arrested in front of Notre Dame Cathedral while flying a drone above some of Paris’ top attractions.
The 24-year-old man spent a night in jail and was fined £310 before he was released.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3079414/French-travel-photographer-faces-suspended-jail-sentence-flying-remote-control-drone-Disneyland-Paris-deliberately-hitting-security-guard-car.html#ixzz3a1rlYlQD
