New Orleans man named Santa Claus arrested in child predator sting

Police allege the 75-year-old tried to meet someone he believed was a 15-year-old boy after explicit online chats

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A New Orleans man who legally changed his name to Santa Claus was jailed recently on allegations that he tried to use a dating app to sexually prey on someone he believed to be an underage boy.

Claus, 75, initiated contact through the app with an undercover detective who was posing as a 15-year-old boy as part of a sting operation being carried out over the weekend to arrest potential child predators, said a statement from police in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner.

The Louisiana agency’s statement alleged that Claus explicitly discussed engaging in sexual acts with an individual he genuinely believed was too young to be able to legally consent and ultimately arranged an in-person meeting in Kenner, which is home to New Orleans’ international airport.

Claus had also sent illicit pictures of himself exposed, the agency’s police chief, Keith Conley, separately told the Guardian.

He then surrendered without resisting when investigators confronted him and took him into custody after he showed up to that meeting, Kenner police said.

Claus’s “physical appearances indicates he does take on the persona of the [Christmas] Santa Claus, which is alarming considering” he was allegedly trying to commit a crime colloquially known as statutory rape, the police’s statement also noted.

Conley elaborated by saying investigators found Claus had images of him posing as the gift-bearing figure also known as Saint Nick. He added that the operation’s arrest of a “person who dresses up as Santa … inviting parents to drop their young children in his lap for photo [opportunities] is a cautionary tale to parents and guardians”.

Claus faces counts of illegal computer-aided solicitation of a minor as well as indecent behavior with a juvenile.

Conley said Claus’s name was George Quigley before he legally changed it – and that he lived in Texas before moving to New Orleans. Other men across the US 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.

Claus was among 11 suspects who were arrested during the sting operation that led to his arrest, Kenner police said. The agency said its cybercrimes division had also obtained warrants to arrest another 10 suspects who were not immediately captured.

Beside computer-aided solicitation of a minor and indecent behavior with a juvenile, counts against the other suspects include criminal grooming behavior, Kenner police said.

Records showed New Orleans’ 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.