A man was arrested at Disneyland after a live streamer said she was groped in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Yoatzi Castro, a content creator, was celebrating a friend’s birthday and taking photos when she said a man in a white T-shirt groped her.
She was streaming at the time.
Her Account
“I am so livid and I am so upset,” Castro said in a social media post. “I’m so grateful that we were livestreaming and we were able to capture it.”
Her Instagram post included a clip and a zoomed-in image of the man.
In the clip, a man walks close to Castro as he heads toward the castle with a female companion. His hand briefly leaves the frame. Castro then turns, follows him, and strikes him in the back.
She confronts him verbally. He responds, “What are you talking about?”
What the Police Said
Disneyland security located the man shortly afterward and called the Anaheim Police Department.
Police spokesperson Eric Anderson said the incident happened at 8 p.m. The man was arrested on suspicion of sexual battery, then cited and released the same evening. A court date is still being determined.
Police said they knew of no prior incidents involving him and did not immediately release his name. The investigation is pending.
An arrest is not a conviction. No charging decision has been announced.
What “Cited and Released” Means
This phrase gets misread constantly.
Cite and release is standard for misdemeanor-level arrests in California. Instead of jail before arraignment, officers issue a citation requiring a court appearance.
The arrest stands. The report goes to prosecutors. The case continues.
The next step is a charging decision from the district attorney, which has not been announced.
Why the Stream Matters
Most incidents like this produce nothing.
They last two seconds, in a crowd, with no clear witness. It becomes one account against another, and there is usually nothing for security to review.
Castro’s footage existed before anyone knew it would be needed. Live, unedited, capturing the man’s face, his clothing, and who he was with.
That gave security something concrete to search for instead of a vague description. It is very likely why a man was found within minutes rather than not at all.
An uncomfortable thing to sit with: this produced an arrest because a camera was running.
The Part Disney Controls
No venue can stop every person who walks in from behaving badly. Not a park, not a stadium, not a mall.
What a venue controls is the next twenty minutes.
By this account, that worked. Security found him, police came, an arrest happened the same night. Not a form to fill out. Not come back tomorrow.
Castro thanked them directly, crediting Disneyland’s security team in a follow-up post.
“As women, we always have to have our guard up, because you never know when men like this are around us,” she said.
Disney has not issued a public statement.
If It Happens to You
Tell a cast member right away and stay put. Any cast member can reach security, and security can find someone in a park far better than you can.
Give specifics. Clothing, direction, anyone they were with.
Keep any video or photos, unedited.
Ask for police. Anaheim PD responded and made an arrest the same evening here.
Where It Stands
Arrested on suspicion of sexual battery. Cited and released. Name withheld. No prior incidents known. And no charges announced. With no court date set.
The matter is with investigators and prosecutors now.
This article describes allegations. An arrest is not a conviction, and no charging decision has been announced. If you have experienced sexual assault, the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline is available at 800-656-4673.
Sources: Yoatzi Castro’s Instagram posts and statements from the Anaheim Police Department.
