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Fact check: Story about a Wisconsin mall Santa attacking a child molester is a hoax

McKenzie Sadeghi   | Paste BN
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The claim: A mall Santa Claus beat up a child molester

A widely shared post on Facebook claims a Wisconsin mall Santa Claus beat up a child molester after a young girl confided in him and said she wanted her "stepdad to stop touching her at night." 

"A Wisconsin mall Santa decided to handle one of his naughty list members early this year when a young girl told him her Christmas wish was for her stepdad to stop molesting her," reads a December 2016 Facebook post that recently went viral. "He and four of his elves attacked the guy, who was waiting nearby, and pummeled him unconscious." 

The claim includes a blurred mugshot of a man and a purported photo of a Santa being arrested by police officers outside of the mall. Below the images is the title of an article that reads, "Kid Tells Mall Santa A Secret; Seconds Later Him And His Elves Are Beating The Crap Out Of A Child Molester." 

Paste BN reached out to the user for comment. 

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Story is a hoax

A small text in the top right of the corner of the purported article reads thuglifevideos.com and reveals that the story originated from a satirical site. 

Thug Life Videos published the story in December 2016 and the site's about page reads, "we sometimes share the odd satire stories for your entertainment."

The article from Thug Life Videos claims the incident happened at Southridge Mall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and quotes a claimed Milwaukee police spokeswoman named Holly Delgado saying that the stepfather was being investigated and that the man dressed as Santa was arrested. 

However, Milwaukee Police Spokesman Sgt. Tim Guarke told The Associated Press in 2016 that he has never heard of Delgado and that Southridge Mall is not in their jurisdiction. A spokeswoman for Southridge Mall owner Simon Properties also confirmed to The Associated Press that the story is not true. 

Further, the images used in the story are from unrelated incidents. 

A reverse Google image search of the man in the mugshot used in the story shows it was posted to Facebook by the Jacksonville, Florida, Sheriff's Office in 2012 after a man was arrested.

The other photo of Santa being arrested originates from a 2013 image of a Black Friday protest at Walmart in Ontario, California. Around 250 protesters turned out to demand better wages and working conditions for Walmart employees, CBS Los Angeles reported. 

The hoax has also been previously debunked throughout the years by fact-checking organizations Snopes and PolitiFact.

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Our rating: False

The claim that a mall Santa attacked a child molester and was arrested is FALSE, based on our research. The story originated on a site that occasionally publishes satirical content and the images used in the story are from unrelated incidents. The mall that the article claims the arrest took place at has also confirmed that the story is a hoax. 

Our fact-check sources:

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