For more than a decade, Thomas Hicks has played Santa Claus in the Lakeland, Florida, Christmas parade. However, Hicks, a retired pastor, will likely spend this Christmas behind bars after being arrested in a sting operation targeting men seeking to pay to sexually abuse children.
Editor’s note: This article refers to disturbing reports of child sex abuse, which some readers might find triggering.
Hicks, 68, is accused of corresponding online with someone he believed to be the father of a 13-year-old girl and agreeing to pay $200 to have sex with the child. Hicks was arrested when he arrived at the agreed-upon location.
He allegedly had two $100 bills in his wallet.
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Hicks retired from First Alliance Church in Lakeland in 2022, the church said in a social media statement after Hicks was arrested.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, “thousands and thousands and thousands of children have sat on this guy’s lap thinking he was Santa Claus, when in fact what he was, was a child sex predator.”
Judd also indicated that Hicks had been a pastor for four decades.
According to the arrest report, Hicks messaged an undercover investigator after finding an ad on a website known for prostitution. The photos in the ad “were age-regressed, which depicted a white female with brown hair and soft features.” Detectives said that the photos were “created using a photo editing software [that] makes the subject of the image appear youthful in appearance.”
After allegedly making contact with an undercover investigator, Hicks was informed that the child he was seeking to pay for sex with was 13 years old.
“Wow, I didn’t know she was so young!” Hicks allegedly replied. “I like her looks.”
In the correspondence, messages allegedly from Hicks emphasized that he was “older,” “gentle,” and seeking “to give her pleasure.”
