April 30, 2026

Polk County authorities say they caught a major shocker in a child-predator sting: Thomas Allen Hicks of Lakeland, a well-known for-hire Santa Claus, was among 19 suspects arrested in “Operation Child Protector VIII.” Sheriff Grady Judd blasted the case Wednesday, holding up Hicks’ mugshot and Santa photos and warning that “thousands and thousands” of children had sat on his lap thinking he was Santa, when in fact, Judd said, he was a child sex predator.

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