A 75-year-old New Orleans man who legally changed his name to Santa Claus was arrested Friday and accused of trying to meet someone he believed was a 15-year-old boy for sex, according to Kenner Police.
Claus, whose legal name was George Quigley before he changed it, was booked on charges of computer-aided solicitation of a minor and indecent behavior with a juvenile, police said. He surrendered without resistance when investigators confronted him after he arrived at a prearranged meeting in Kenner, a New Orleans suburb that is home to the city’s international airport.
According to a statement from the Kenner Police Department, Claus initiated contact through a dating app with an undercover detective who was posing as a 15-year-old boy as part of a sting operation conducted over the weekend to arrest potential child predators. Police alleged that Claus explicitly discussed engaging in sexual acts with someone he believed was too young to legally consent and arranged the in-person meeting.
Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley told The Guardian that Claus also sent illicit pictures of himself exposed during the online exchanges.
Conley said the case carried particular significance because of Claus’s public persona. “His physical appearances indicates he does take on the persona of the [Christmas] Santa Claus, which is alarming considering” the alleged crime, the police statement said. Conley elaborated that investigators found images of Claus posing as the gift-bearing figure also known as Saint Nick.
“Now we have arrested a person who dresses up as Santa Claus, inviting parents to drop their young children in his lap for photo ops; this is a cautionary tale to parents and guardians,” Conley said in a statement.
Claus was among 11 suspects arrested during the sting operation, Kenner Police said. The department’s cybercrimes division also obtained warrants to arrest another 10 suspects who were not immediately captured. Charges against the other suspects include computer-aided solicitation of a minor, indecent behavior with a juvenile, and criminal grooming behavior, police said.
Conley said Claus lived in Texas before moving to New Orleans. Other men across the U.S. who are not involved in the Kenner case have also undergone the legal process to rename themselves Santa Claus, according to various news media reports.
Records showed Claus remained jailed as of Tuesday morning. Bail information was not immediately available. The Guardian left a message for comment on a telephone number associated with Claus.