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Cary 'Santa' could have third victim, warrant suggests

A 70-year-old Cary man who goes by the nickname "Santa John" surrendered to police Wednesday on new charges of soliciting a child by computer in Raleigh.

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John Thomas Peters
RALEIGH, N.C. — New search warrants reveal a possible third victim in the case against a Cary man accused of going online to solicit teenage girls for sex.

The court documents, made public Monday, are requests for access to John Thomas Peters' email and Facebook accounts, as well as access to two email and Facebook accounts for the alleged victims.

Cary police charged Peters, 70, in January with several charges after they arrested him at a fast-food restaurant in Apex, where he had planned to meet a 15-year-old girl.

In March, Raleigh police arrested Peters on accusations that he met a 13-year-old girl on Facebook and met her outside a YMCA in October.

The latest warrants, dated April 16, indicate he also met a second girl on the same day at an unspecified location in north Raleigh.

The warrants also say that he talked about having the girls take part in "provocative to nude" photo shoots and had conversations about sexual acts.

Warrants in both the Cary and Raleigh arrests list Facebook profiles in which Peters allegedly refers to himself as an amateur photographer looking for models. A majority of his friends on both pages appear to be girls and young women.

Peters, who is out of jail and under house arrest on charges in two of the three cases, is known for his portrayal as Santa Claus at area malls.

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