A 78-year-old former Santa Claus impersonator has been charged with 13 counts of child abuse and is believed to have ties to a child trafficking ring in North Carolina, police said.
Bevier Hasbrouck Slaight, who dressed as Santa Claus for years at Santa's Land Fun Park & Zoo in Cherokee, North Carolina, is charged with aggravated sexual abuse, offensive touching, delinquency, misconduct and neglect or abuse of a minor. WLOS reports.
According to court documents, the incidents occurred between March 2023 and March 2024 at Sleight's home behind Santa's Land and involved children as young as five.
Police said Sleight also had 27 weapons in the camper.
Locals who knew the white-bearded Sleight from his days dressing up as Santa were shocked by his arrest.
“I'm just surprised and shocked. I never thought about it like that,” Kim Lambert told WROL. “I have a lot of grandkids, so it's just a huge shock.”
Lambert has met Slaight on several occasions in the past; Santaland is on her family's land.
“He's always really been a very good person,” she told the local news station, “so it's just such a shock to hear that.”
The company said Slight no longer works at Santaland.
Cherokee Indian Police said Slight's arrest was in connection with the case of local suspect Caroline Rowland, 39, who is accused of leading a child trafficking ring.
Police said Slight was one of Rowland's customers.
Rowland was arrested June 5 and charged with 11 counts including child abuse, assault, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and serious bodily injury.
According to court documents obtained by the news station, Rowland allegedly slammed the 5-year-old girl's hand into a table, causing “multiple fractures of the bones in multiple fingers on both hands.”
He then allegedly picked up the girl, threw her to the ground and slammed her face into the floor repeatedly until she stopped breathing.
The girl was revived with CPR but required surgery, and further injuries were discovered all over her body at the hospital.
Rowland's next-door neighbor told the outlet that she had noticed strangers frequently coming and going in her normally quiet neighborhood and suspected suspicious activity inside her home.
Rowland's next court date is scheduled for October 23rd.
If you live in New York State and have been sexually assaulted, you can receive free, confidential crisis counseling by calling 1-800-942-6906. If you live outside of New York State, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at 1-800-656-4673.
