Seven members of the Hamidovic family have received prison sentences in France after a Paris court found that minors and young women were exploited in a pickpocketing network that targeted tourists at Disneyland Paris and other crowded locations around the capital.
The September 23 sentencing puts a hard legal consequence behind a disturbing scheme investigators said relied on children, including girls as young as 10. Disneyland Paris was one of several locations used by the network, alongside the Paris Métro and Charles de Gaulle Airport. For visitors, the case is a reminder that a controlled theme-park environment does not eliminate ordinary theft risks in dense crowds.
Disneyland Paris Child Pickpocketing Case Ends With Prison Sentences
Roberto Hamidovic, 48, was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined €500,000, while his wife, Lejla Hamidovic, received six years and a €300,000 fine. Two sons, a nephew, and two female relatives received prison terms ranging from five to seven years, according to reporting on the Paris court proceedings.
The seven defendants had faced allegations including human trafficking, organized theft, corruption of minors, money laundering, and criminal association. They denied the charges. The sentences followed a case centered not simply on pickpocketing, but on the exploitation and coercion of children and young women used to carry it out.
This was not a finding that Disneyland Paris operated improperly or evidence of an uncontrolled resort crime wave. It was the prosecution of a specific network targeting tourist locations.
How Investigators Said the Network Used Disneyland Paris Crowds
Investigators said groups of six to nine young people were sent to locations including Disneyland Paris, Charles de Gaulle Airport, and the Paris Métro, with foreign tourists among their targets. At Disneyland Paris, investigators said the youths blended into crowds gathered for evening parades.
Police said the network generated an average of approximately €25,000 per day. That figure describes proceeds attributed to the broader operation; available reporting does not establish that €25,000 was stolen specifically from Disneyland Paris guests every day.
The court also heard allegations of severe violence against the exploited children. According to reporting from the proceedings, youngsters who failed to bring back enough money could face beatings, burns, or sexual abuse. Many of the children were not called to testify in order to protect their identities.
The case involved both thefts against tourists and the trafficking and abuse of minors directed by adults.
Why Crowded Disney Environments Became a Target
Disneyland Paris draws families into dense, attention-heavy environments that can create opportunities for pickpockets: queues, transportation hubs, nighttime entertainment, and crowds focused on parades rather than their belongings. Paris’s official tourism office separately warns that busy tourist areas attract pickpockets and advises visitors to keep bags securely closed and carried in front.
The recent court case is especially relevant as Disneyland Paris continues to draw substantial crowds. Inside the Magic reported that the resort reached capacity on September 26, just days after the sentencing. Earlier this month, the resort also reduced weekday operating hours, while Disney Adventure World is still settling into its major 2026 transformation.
Those developments did not cause the crimes, but they illustrate why awareness matters in crowded spaces.
What Disneyland Paris Says About Security and Personal Belongings
Disneyland Paris says it maintains a long-term public-safety partnership with French authorities and uses both visible and undisclosed security measures. Visible measures include bag checks and security personnel. The resort does not disclose every security procedure because doing so could compromise their effectiveness.
Its published park rules also state that Disney may inspect guests’ clothing, coats, and belongings at entry or inside the parks. The rules caution that Euro Disney Associés is not responsible for theft, loss, or damage involving guests’ personal property and recommend using available storage rather than leaving valuables unattended.
That makes this case different from recent operational incidents at the resort, such as a small fire that temporarily affected part of Main Street, U.S.A., or routine attraction and refurbishment closures. Those are park-management issues. The Hamidovic case involved an outside criminal network exploiting public-facing tourist environments.
Guests do not need to treat every crowded Disney moment as a threat. Basic precautions are more useful: keep phones and wallets secured, close bags fully, avoid carrying unnecessary cash, and pay closer attention when crowds compress around parades, stations, entrances, and exits. Those precautions align with current advice from Paris’s tourism authority.
The Sentences Close the Trial, Not Every Question
The September sentences bring this prosecution to a major endpoint, but they do not establish that pickpocketing has disappeared from Disneyland Paris or the wider Paris region. Nor do they show that this one family was responsible for every theft reported around the resort.
For guests, that distinction is important. Disneyland Paris remains a functioning international vacation destination with established security procedures, and there has been no verified announcement that this case has forced changes to park operations.
The most significant outcome is instead judicial: adults accused of turning children into instruments of an organized theft operation have now received multi-year prison sentences. As Disneyland Paris continues evolving after the opening of Disney Adventure World and other resort changes, visitors should keep the case in perspective while following the same precautions recommended across Paris’s busiest tourist areas.
