Dec 18, 2007 11:00 am US/Pacific
Cops: Woman Groped Mall Santa Claus
DANBURY, Conn. (AP) ―
A woman was charged with sexual assault after allegedly groping Santa Claus at a shopping mall.
Sandrama Lamy, 33, faces fourth-degree sexual assault and breach of peace charges.
Danbury police were called to the mall over the weekend. The mall Santa told them Lamy had touched him inappropriately while sitting on his lap.
"The security officer at the mall said Santa Claus has been sexually assaulted," Danbury Detective Lt. Thomas Michael said.
Lamy has been released on a promise to appear in court on Jan. 3.
A message seeking comment was left on Lamy's answering machine Tuesday morning. A woman at that number called back to say, "It's a false report and I don't have any idea."
"Santa Tim" Connaghan, president of RealSantas.com, teaches hundreds of prospective Santas a year and said he's never heard of a similar incident, though it's not unusual for adults to want to pose with Santa.
"I've had some very nice ladies sit on my lap," Connaghan said. "Once in a while they'll say 'I hope Mrs. Claus isn't going to be upset.' You have to be discreet and kind and say 'Oh no, she'll be OK. You can sit here, but only for one photo."'
"I don't know what the deal was. It was just bizarre," the mall Santa said, referring all other questions about the incident to Cherry Hill Photo, the company that runs the Danbury Fair mall Santa photo op, according to the Danbury News-Times.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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