This time of year, children flock to malls, parades, and events across the nation to sit on Santa's lap and tell him everything they hope he will bring them for Christmas. Santa always asks if the child has been "naughty or nice," but who is checking on Santa?

Over the summer, a Warr Acres man who served as Santa Claus for Putnam City school events was arrested in an internet sex sting after he allegedly attempted to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex. The OSBI reported that Wiley Gene Davis, Jr., 49, responded to a Craigslist ad that he believed to be posted by a minor, and began making sexual comments while referring to himself as "Santa."

Davis was arrested at a Guthrie convenience store as he attempted to meet the "girl" for sex. Davis, who is also a private investigator, was carrying a loaded weapon and a private investigator badge when he was arrested. He was charged with Lewd Proposals to a Child Under 16, violating the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act, and Possession of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony.

Davis was appointed a public defender, and in September, he was released on $30,000 bond. According to an Oklahoma court records search, his next court date is scheduled for January 2014

Davis is not the only "Bad Santa" accused of being a sex offender.

  • Just before Thanksgiving, an 18-year-old girl working as an elf at a Massachusetts mall accused "Santa" of pinching her buttocks and making sexually suggestive comments. The mall Santa, 62-year-old Herbert Jones, denies the allegations, but has been charged with the Oklahoma equivalent of sexual battery. He has been banned from the mall where he was working and forbidden to dress as Santa pending the outcome of his case. His next court date is scheduled for Christmas Eve.
  • Last year, Texas parents were outraged to discover that a volunteer Santa in a Christmas parade was a registered sex offender in another state. Although in some states, sex offenders are prohibited from passing out Halloween candy and dressing up as Santa, clowns, and the Easter Bunny, that was not the case in Texas, and the volunteer was breaking no laws. Parents were furious that their children may have come in contact with the "sex offender"--despite the fact that his offense was committed when he himself was a child. He was only 12 years old at the time of his offense.
  • In 2008, the United States Postal Service suspended its Operation Santa program which encouraged volunteers to send gifts to kids whose letters to Santa reached a dead end at the post office. The program was suspended after a registered sex offender collected a letter containing the name and address of a child. The would-be Santa had been convicted of one count of sexual abuse of a minor and given a 4-year suspended sentence and 6 months under house arrest. He was ordered to undergo counseling and prohibited from contact with his victim or children under the age of 18.
  • In 2006, a Colorado mall suspended its visits with Santa after it was discovered that a registered sex offender was working as a photographer for the Santa event. The photographer had been convicted for child molestation in 1992 and served 6 years of a 10-year sentence. He is required to register as a sex offender for life, but he is not prohibited from working with children, and he broke no laws in working as a photographer for the Santa display.

Learn more about Oklahoma sex offender laws and restrictions, or click here for a risk-free consultation with an experienced sex crime defense attorney.