A 78-year-old former Santa Claus impersonator is facing 13 counts of child abuse after being accused of sexually abusing a 5-year-old girl, according to North Carolina authorities.
Bevier Hasbrouck Slight III was arrested Aug. 29 and charged with aggravated sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, offensive touching and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
“I'm just surprised and shocked.”
Law and Crime According to the indictment, Slaight sexually abused the two girls between March 2023 and March 2024. According to the indictment, Slaight performed oral sex and finger penetration on the girls, who were 5 and 6 years old.
According to court records, the alleged crimes occurred at Slaight's home, less than a mile from Santa's Land Fun Park and Zoo in Cherokee.
Slight, who has a long white beard, said he has played the role of Santa Claus at Santa's Land Fun Park and Zoo.
Christmas themed amusement park Website: “Your kids can look forward to visiting Santa's vacation home in the Great Smoky Mountains, where they can sit down with Santa, make their Christmas wish and receive their very own 'good behavior award.'”
The grandparents, who wish to remain anonymous, brought their grandchild to Santa's Land on August 24 but now feel “disgusted” because they gave the grandchild's name and address to receive a letter from Santa Claus.
“Going with my grandparents was a good memory for me, and I wanted to recreate that memory with my grandchildren,” the grandparents said. WLOS“I said, 'Let's go see Santa,' and we went to Santa's house. Santa was standing there. [my grandchild] For a little while.”
At the end of the visit they were asked if they would like to purchase a letter from Santa to send to their grandchildren at Christmas time, they agreed and wrote their grandchildren's names and addresses on the envelopes.
The grandparents said, “Who doesn't want a surprise letter from Santa Claus?”
The grandparent added: “I was disgusted and I said straight away: 'I want the envelope back. I don't want them to know my grandson's address'. It's disgusting. It disgusts me to think that they're doing this to young kids the same age as my grandson.”
Slight's arrest on child sex charges came as a shock to local residents.
“I'm just surprised and shocked. I never would have thought of that,” said neighbor Kim Lambert. WLOS“I have a lot of grandchildren, so it's quite a shock. He was always such a good person.”
Santa's Land Fun Park & Zoo New York Post Slight no longer works there, but the park did not disclose his last day of employment.
A Santa's Land spokesperson told WOLS the park has no comment at this time.
WLOS There were reported links between Slaight and a woman who was recently arrested on suspicion of child abuse.
On June 5, Caroline Rowland was arrested and charged with 11 offences, including child abuse, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and serious bodily injury.
According to court documents obtained by WLOS, 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.”
Rowland, 39, is accused of picking up the girl, throwing her to the ground and slamming her face into the floor repeatedly until she stopped breathing.
The girl required CPR to revive her and emergency craniotomy, according to the complaint. She allegedly suffered a brain bleed and additional injuries were found throughout her body at the hospital.
Cherokee Indian Police said Slight was a “client” of Rowland, who is accused of running a child trafficking ring, according to WLOS, but neither suspect currently faces any trafficking-related charges.
Police told WLOS the human trafficking investigation is ongoing.
Rowland remains in the Cherokee County Detention Center with his next court date scheduled for Oct. 23.
Police said Slaight is being held without bail, but court documents state he is being held on electronic monitoring and has bail set at $75,000.
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