A Massachusetts man has been fined $500 for assaulting a Chuck E. Cheese mouse.
Authorities say 34-year-old Trahan Pires thought the perpetually happy mascot had pinned his 11-year-old son against a video game after the boy said "Chuck" had picked him up by the arms and cornered him by a console.
Pires, of Fairhaven, ripped off the mascot's head piece, pointed a finger at the man inside and yelled at him.
The 19-year-old man in the mouse suit told police he put his arms out to get through a crowd of children trying to knock him over and never grabbed anyone. A witness agreed with that account, adding that the mascot only bumped into the boy accidentally while turning around.
Pires pleaded guilty Monday. A judge fined him after rejecting the prosecution's request for a six-month jail sentence.
Pires' family was at the children's restaurant in Dartmouth in May to celebrate his son's birthday.
