A costumed character at Sesame Place is facing sexual assault charges after allegedly exploiting an underage girl online.
While theme parks go out of their way to ensure a safe, enjoyable environment for their guests we’ve seen multiple instances of employees facing legal repercussions in recent years due to inappropriate conduct.
In 2023 and 2024, multiple cast members on the Disney Cruise Line were arrested and charged with possession of child pornography. Two years earlier, in 2021, a Florida law enforcement sting operation on those using the internet to prey on young children resulted in the arrest of 17 suspects (a total of 49 felonies and two misdemeanors), among whom there were three Disney World cast members.
Now another park has been pulled into headlines after one of its workers was arrested for allegedly sending sexually explicit messages and photos to an underage girl in Missouri.
Don-Diego Parkman, 19, worked as a costumed character at Sesame Place Philadelphia until August 2024. The Pennsylvania park is one of the two Sesame Place theme parks owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts – the same company that operates SeaWorld and Busch Gardens – under a licensing agreement for Sesame Street characters with Sesame Workshop. This same licensing agreement recently sparked a lawsuit between the two parties with SeaWorld ultimately ordered to pay Sesame Workshop millions.
The theme park’s characters have been accused of discriminating against young Black patrons in the past. This week, a federal jury found that costumed players did not discriminate against girls shown in a video that went viral in July 2022.
Parkman also worked as a mascot for the Somerset Patriots minor league baseball team and Devils Arena Entertainment, a company affiliated with the New Jersey Devils (via Philly Voice).
A SWAT team searched Parkman’s home, seizing “multiple items of evidentiary value.” Parkman was later taken into custody, where he has been charged with aggravated sexual assault, manufacturing child sexual abuse material, possession of child sex material, and endangerment.
Both Sesame Place and Devils Arena Entertainment confirmed to 6ABC that Parkman is no longer an employee. “Parkman is no longer employed by Sesame Place. His arrest is not related to Sesame Place, and any questions should be directed to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office,” Sesame Place said in a statement. Parkman had also recently been employed by Six Flags Great Adventure, but the park told the outlet that he had not yet started working at the theme park.
A former female coworker told 6ABC that she wasn’t surprised by the charges. “I know that a lot of young girls and women, including myself, were uncomfortable with how he treated, looked at, and spoke to them,” she said.
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