DANBURY, CT — Christmas may be over, but that doesn’t mean that Santa’s work is done. Alas for one mall Santa, there’s a day in court to look forward to – as the victim of a sexual assault, no less. Ho, ho, ho, indeed.It was a day like any other for the 65-year-old Danbury Fair Mall Santa, whose identity is being protected. Child and young-at-heart adult after child and young-at-heart adult had sat on his lap, confessed their materialistic desires, accepted a treat, and moved along, mostly without incident. But when 33-year-old Sandrama Lamy sat on Santa’s lap, things changed.

“The security officer at the mall said ‘Santa Claus has been sexually assaulted,’” Detective Lt. Thomas Michael told the Associated Press.

Lamy, who was easy to identify given her use of crutches at the time of the Santa grope, was apprehended, arrested, and charged with sexual assault and breach of peace. After promising to appear in court on January 3rd, 2008, she was released from police custody.

Although a caller to the AP from Lamy’s home insists that “it’s a false report and I don’t have any idea,” police insist that the Santa in question is very much unsettled by the incident, which upset him in part because it took place in front of children.

“Santa Tim” Connaghan, the president of RealSantas.com and a mentor to hundreds of Santa hopefuls each year, told the AP that although he had never heard of an overly frisky Santaphile, he has “had some very nice ladies sit on my lap.” While they often flirt and giggle about the possibility of a jealous Mrs. Claus, Connaghan assures that they have always been controlled enough to enjoy their one chaste photo on Santa’s lap and then move along.

Unfortunately for the now-receding holiday season, the felt-up Santa was not the only one to find this Christmas less than what he’d hoped. Canada’s postal service found itself searching for a “rogue elf,” hired to respond to children’s letters to Santa Claus. Instead of penning custom-crafted notes intended to fill their young reader’s minds with sugarplum memories, the mean-spirited writer sent off at least 10 notes filled with obscenities in the name of Santa Claus. Although the “Write to Santa” program had delivered more than a million loving notes to children in Canada and the world, the one bad elf caused the operation to come to a premature halt this year.