Sad news for Christmas fans everywhere — the worst kind of predator is also known as “the best Santa ever”. News like this comes as parents and Santa Claus Employment agencies continue to grapple with issues revolving around the backgrounds of professional Santas.
A rare international alert seeking a man shown in dozens of raw child porn images quickly led to the arrest of a small-time actor, who painted faces at children’s parties and performed as “the best Santa Claus anyone has ever seen.”
Judy Stone, a neighbor who worked with him as an entertainer at corporate parties, art fairs and bar mitzvahs, said he did a wonderful job.
“He’s the best Santa Claus anyone has ever seen,” Stone said. “I’ve never seen him act in a way that was creepy or predatory toward children.”
Raven Squire, the superintendent of the apartment building where Corliss has lived for more than two decades, said Corliss was very computer savvy and had a cluttered apartment, but that he never saw anything inappropriate there.
“He’s a very amiable man, a great sense of wittiness,” Squire said. “He seemed very stable, always paid his rent.”
Corliss’ arrest came two days after Interpol took the rare step of asking for the public’s help. Two years of investigation had failed to determine the identity, whereabouts or even the nationality of the man seen in the pictures.
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