A man from Cary, NC, that portrays Santa Clause at malls around the state pleaded guilty last Friday to soliciting a child by computer and second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Authorities arrested 70 year-old John Thompson Peters in January at a fast food restaurant in Apex. Peters had planned to meet a 15 year-old girl that he met on the internet. According to police, Peters had solicited the girl for sex.
Peters posed as an amateur photographer and said he was searching for new models. The judge sentenced Peters to up to three years of prison time. In addition, Peters must register as a sex offender upon his release.
