A man who worked as a “Santa for hire” has been arrested over claims he distributed child sexual abuse images, with police issuing an urgent warning about his regular interaction with youngsters during festive occasions.

Officials in Mercer County, New Jersey, confirmed on Monday that Mark Paulino, 64, of Hamilton Township, was apprehended and charged with possession and distribution of child sexual abuse materials, and an additional charge of endangering the welfare of a child.

According to investigators, the probe was launched on December 4, 2025 when detectives received alerts regarding someone allegedly uploading images of child pornography from an address in Paulino’s hometown.

Police quickly identified Paulino, who claimed online to be a retired primary school teacher, as the suspect in question.

Officers went on to reveal that he had recently been performing as Father Christmas for “photographs and private, corporate and organisational events.”, reports <a href=”https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/us-news/paedo-santa-hire-arrested-after-36372360″ rel=”Follow” target=”_self”>the Daily Star</a>.

Given this position involved direct, regular contact with youngsters, detectives explained they “worked around the clock” to obtain a search warrant.

The warrant was carried out on December 5, with police confirming that investigators “seized multiple items of evidentiary value” during the search, whilst Paulino was arrested without incident. Prosecutors have since filed a motion to detain him pending trial.

The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward.

Just last week, another teacher was jailed for 135 years after using AI to create lewd sexualised videos and images of his own pupils.

David McKeown, 47, was sentenced on Tuesday after investigators discovered he had used artificial intelligence to generate child sexual abuse material featuring students from his school.

McKeown, a sixth-grade teacher at United Brethren in Christ Academy in Florida, US, was arrested in June after Holly Hill police received a tip about a Discord user sharing child sexual abuse material.

Officers soon traced the activity to McKeown and found he had been distributing files and chatting with other users while using the school’s Wi-Fi during school hours.

Investigators said the disgraced teacher shared students’ personal information and photographs, including AI-generated images that appeared sexually explicit.

Prosecutors also revealed that police uncovered photographs of McKeown “engaging in sexual acts with the family pet”.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier condemned the crimes in a statement, saying: “The abuse and trauma this predator inflicted is sick, and he deserves every moment of this sentence.

“We will always seek the longest sentence possible for anyone who harms innocent children or defenseless animals.”