'Santa John' had sex toys in car

"Santa John," 70, a mall Santa charged last month with using the Internet to solicit a 15-year-old girl for a sexually explicit photo shoot, was found to have sex toys and camera equipment in his car at the time of his arrest, according to a search warrant.

John Thomas Peters of 113 Crestpoint Court, Cary, was arrested Jan. 11 in the McDonald's parking lot at U.S. 64 and Lake Pine Drive in Apex. Police say Peters had come to the McDonald's to meet with a teen whom he had found on a modeling website and had contacted through Facebook using a false identity. Instead, he was confronted by police.

In a recent search of Peters' car, a detective found several sex toys, cameras and ropes, according to a search warrant made public Thursday.

Peters was charged with first-degree sexual exploitation, as well as dissemination of pornography to a minor younger than 16 and solicitation of a child by computer to commit a sexual act. Bail initially was set at $1 million but lowered to $600,000.