A man dressed as Santa Claus is facing time in prison after he allegedly hit a child with a branch at a Christmas market.
The 62-year-old was handing out treats to children at a fair in Strausland, northern Germany, when the four-year-old boy and his mother approached.
The young boy stuck his tongue out at the man and called him “dumb”, which reportedly caused the man to see red.
He picked up a fir branch and hit the boy in both the face and body, the prosecutor has alleged.
A man dressed as Santa Claus (not pictured) is facing time in prison after he allegedly hit a child with a branch at a Christmas market
Getty
The 62-year-old has denied the “nonsense” allegations, German newspaper Bild reports.
He said that he had “only” slapped the boy on his bottom and was “shocked” at the aftermath.
The man faces up to five years in prison or a fine if convicted.
After the incident, he stopped performing at the Christmas market.
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“I was shocked at what it turned out to be,” he said.
The Stralsund District Court has now admitted the charges to trial, which is scheduled for June 26.
It is not the first time this past Christmas season that a Santa Claus has become embroiled in controversy.
In December, a protester dressed as Father Christmas scaled the famous Trafalgar Square Christmas tree in central London.
The incident began at approximately 9.35am when the man, wearing the traditional red and white Father Christmas outfit and carrying a large black rucksack, began climbing the Norwegian spruce.
He remained on the tree for several hours, brandishing a poster that featured Sir Keir Starmer's face with the message "Put the father back into Xmas."
The demonstrator could reportedly be heard shouting 'Keir Starmer has blood on his hands'
TwitterThe demonstrator was part of Fathers4Justice - a group advocating for fathers’ rights that has a history of high-profile protest stunts.
A month earlier, a pensioner who volunteers as a Santa Claus for a local charity each was sacked for sending "anti-Labour" social media posts.
Paul Cleary told GB News he was left devastated at being informed his services would no longer be required after expressing his political opinions online.
The 71-year-old is a well-known figure in the local community, performing at light switch-on events with the Lord Mayor and offering free Santa visits to families.
He received a formal letter in November from Wath-upon-Dearne Community Partnership stating his social media posts about "Labour cancelling Christmas" had "upset the board members and volunteers" and were deemed “inappropriate” and “anti-Labour".
Devastated by the dismissal, he cancelled all scheduled Santa visits and is now volunteering for a different charity.
