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Woman arrested at Disney World for allegedly choking teen

Woman arrested for child abuse at Disney World
Posted at 2:00 PM, Apr 07, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-07 18:27:14-04

A woman from Michigan was arrested at Disney World on Thursday on charges that she choked a teenager for blocking her view of a fireworks show.

41-year-old Tabbatha Kaye Mature of New Baltimore, Michigan was arrested on third-degree felony child abuse charges.

A report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department says that Mature and her family were sitting behind a group of teenagers during the fireworks at Disney’s Magic Kingdom on Wednesday evening. The teens stood up when the fireworks began, blocking Mature’s view.

Mature asked the teenagers to sit down and “became aggravated.”

When the teenagers decided to leave, one girl offered their spot to Mature. That’s when Mature “wrapped both of her hands around (the girl’s) neck and began squeezing,” the report says.

Mature also allegedly told the girl “you don’t want to mess with me.”

The girl didn’t suffer any visible injuries.

Mature was released on $2,000 bail.

Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.