A Florida man who spent years donning a red suit and white beard as the beloved Polk County Santa now stands accused of trying to buy sex with a 13-year-old girl for $200 in an undercover child-sex sting.
According to Gateway Pundit, 68-year-old Thomas Allen Hicks of Lakeland was among 19 suspects arrested in Operation Child Protector VIII, a multi-day, multi-agency operation led by the Polk County Sheriffs Office targeting adults seeking to sexually exploit minors. Sheriff Grady Judd announced the arrests at a Wednesday press conference, underscoring once again that his department will aggressively pursue those who prey on children, regardless of their public image.
Holding up Hicks booking photo alongside images of him in full Santa costume, Judd did not mince words. We arrested Santa Claus, Sheriff Judd said.
I want all the children who are watching to know that it is not the real Santa Claus. This is a guy, though, who is well-known in Polk County, Central Florida, and Lakeland as a for-hire Santa Claus. Judd added, Hes not going to be Santa Claus this next year.
The sheriff stressed the betrayal of trust involved when a man who posed as a symbol of innocence allegedly sought to exploit a child. Thousands and thousands and thousands of children have sat on this guys lap thinking he was Santa Claus when, in fact, he was a child sex predator, the sheriff emphasized.
According to the official arrest affidavit, an undercover detective posted an advertisement on a known prostitution website, posing as a human trafficker offering his fictitious 13-year-old daughter for sex acts. Hicks allegedly responded to the ad, continued communicating after being told the girls age, negotiated a $200 fee for one hour, and explicitly assured the undercover officer he would be gentle.
The Sheriffs Office detailed the allegations in a press release that left little doubt about the explicit nature of the communications. Hicks sent social media messages to an undercover detective who was posing as a 13-year-old girls guardian. He told the UC that he would pay $200 to have sex with the girl and was explicit in describing the sex acts he wanted to perform on the child, but said that he would be gentle. He told detectives that he has been married over 50 years, but regularly goes onto known prostitution sites looking for prostitutes or companions.
Investigators say Hicks arrived at the pre-arranged meeting location, a retail parking lot, carrying $382 in cash, where he was immediately taken into custody. The man who had been trusted to entertain children at parades and photo sessions also claimed, according to authorities, to have been a preacher for more than four decades.
When not playing Santa, Hicks worked in marketing for Tri-County Behavioral Health/Human Services in Polk County, a role that placed him in proximity to vulnerable populations. He has participated in the Lakeland Christmas Parade since at least 2017 and had been hired by multiple local photographers for childrens holiday photo shoots, further deepening the sense of betrayal for families who believed they were engaging with a harmless seasonal entertainer.
Tri-County Human Services issued a statement confirming that Hicks has been terminated from his position and that the organization is cooperating fully with law enforcement. Fox 13 reports that Hicks, according to the arrest document, admitted he knew the ad was for a 13-year-old girl and acknowledged that he should not have continued contact or entertained sexual thoughts about her.
The same document notes that Hicks claimed uncertainty about whether he would have followed through with the sexual encounter if he believed the child was real. According to the affidavit, the suspect remained calm during his interview with detectives but showed emotion when questioned about his wife and his public reputation.
Hicks now faces a slate of serious felony charges, including human trafficking for commercial sexual activity involving a minor, traveling to meet a minor for unlawful sexual conduct, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and using a computer to solicit a parent or guardian for access to a child. These charges reflect a justice system that, at least in this case, is willing to treat the attempted purchase of a child for sex as the grave offense it is, rather than a victimless consensual transaction as some on the left have tried to portray prostitution more broadly.
This latest operation is part of Sheriff Grady Judds long-running Child Protector series of stings, which have removed dozens of alleged predators from Florida communities in recent years. In an era when progressive prosecutors in some jurisdictions downplay or decline to pursue such crimes aggressively, Judds approach stands in stark contrast, prioritizing the safety of children over the sensibilities of those who want to soften penalties for sexual offenses.
Auburndale Police Chief Terry Storie used the case to deliver a blunt warning to parents about the dangers lurking online and the folly of hands-off parenting. The most frustrating thing theyll say is, I just want to give my kids privacy. That is a load of crap, Storie said.
You get one chance to raise your children, and you need to be involved in every aspect of their life and digging deep into that cell phone, and seeing what theyre doing online and who theyre chatting with. His comments reflect a worldview that rejects the permissive, privacy-at-all-costs parenting model often promoted in progressive circles, and instead calls for active, vigilant oversight to protect children from predators who exploit technology and cultural laxity to reach their victims.
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