Shopping mall Santa accused of pinching 18-year-old elf's bottom

A shopping mall Santa from Massachusetts is accused of inappropriately touching one of the elves.

Police said 62-year-old Herbert G. Jones, of Assonet, pinched the 18-year-old woman’s buttocks while she was working for a company that photographs children with the costumed Santa Claus performer.

The college student said she reported the incident Saturday to her manager, but Jones denied it.

She also said that Jones had previously made inappropriate comments toward her, saying he wished she “were a few years older and I was younger.”

Another employee said she saw Jones reach behind the woman but wasn’t sure if he touched her.

Both women later quit.

The woman’s manager said the employee had been unhappy throughout the day after she was questioned about money missing from the company’s booth.

Jones was arrested in his dressing room and escorted outside in his own clothes, not the Santa costume.

A judge set bail Monday at $1,000 and prohibited Jones from going near the Hanover Mall or playing Santa Claus anywhere else for the rest of the holiday season.

He’s due back in court Dec. 24, Christmas Eve.

Watch this video report posted online by WPRI-TV: