'Dirty Old Santa' Gets Prison For Seeking Teen Sex In Delco

MEDIA, PA – A Philadelphia man who used to work seasonally as a Philadelphia Macy's Santa Claus and called himself "dirty old Santa" will spend up to two years in prison after pleading guilty to soliciting a teenage girl for sex, according to court records.

William McKinlay, 57, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to one to two years in prison, eight years probation, and must register as a sex offender after pleading guilty to criminal solicitation of statutory sexual assault on Feb. 12, according to court records.

McKinlay will also undergo a psychosexual evaluation.

McKinaly also pleaded guilty to a criminal use of a communication facility charge.

McKinlay was charged in June 2017 after an undercover investigation by the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division (CID), Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), and Ridley Township Police Department, according to the Delaware County District Attorney's office.

Officer Tim Kearney of the Ridley Township Police Department was undercover as part of an investigation for the Pennsylvania ICAC Task Force on April 12.

Posing as a 14-year-old girl named "Stephanie," Kearney responded to an internet advertisement posted on a website titled, "young uns – m4w (NE)."

After responding to the ad, McKinlay and "Stephanie" began exchanging messages during which "Stephanie" confirmed she was 14-years-old.

After learning her age, McKinlay began having sexually explicit conversations with "Stephanie."

During the course of a month, McKinlay explained to "Stephanie" how to masturbate and ordered her to do "homework" which involved learning how to masturbate herself and provide graphic detail to McKinlay. During one conversation, McKinlay sent a picture with his hand spread across his mouth, sticking his tongue through his fingers, telling "Stephanie" that the fingers are her legs and his tongue is so he can perform oral sex on her. He also sent graphic pictures and referred to himself as "dirty old Santa."

McKinlay described how he would love to see "Stephanie" naked and teach her about sex.

On June 12, they began discussing meeting up in person, and two days later, it was confirmed they would meet at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 21 at an ice cream store in Ridley Township. He told her it would help if she didn't wear many clothes in the first place, and told her to wear a sleeveless t-shirt, shorts, sneakers and nothing else.

But on June 21 when McKinlay thought he was going to meet 14-year-old Stephanie, he instead met Kearney and a slew of county and township law enforcement members.

Investigators learned that McKinlay held himself out as Santa and confirmed that he was a seasonal employee at Macy's in Philadelphia.

Image via Delaware County District Attorney's Office