Black Friday shoppers at the Solomon Pond Mall were greeted by a nearly naked “Santa” outside one of the mall's entrances at about 12:30 a.m. The young man, identified as Eric Watterson, 18, of Lancaster, was clothed in nothing but a thong, a strategically placed Santa hat and sneakers while standing in line with customers just before doors opened.

MARLBORO — "It came without ribbons. It came without tags ..." It came without a shirt, or even slacks!

Black Friday shoppers at the Solomon Pond Mall were greeted by a nearly naked “Santa” outside one of the mall's entrances at about 12:30 a.m. The young man, identified as Eric Watterson, 18, of Lancaster, was clothed in nothing but a thong, a strategically placed Santa hat and sneakers while standing in line with customers just before doors opened.

Ken Brown, area general manager of Solomon Pond, said that when security officers went to open the mall doors, they found the conspicuously dressed teenager and told him he was not allowed to enter the premises. Marlboro police officers on scene, at request of the mall to manage traffic and shopping flow, were alerted to the situation. Then, the au naturel Santa was handed over to the police department.

Mr. Watterson has been charged with open and gross lewdness and disturbing the peace. He told police upon his arrest — after baring his buttocks to about 100 people standing in line — that he was taking photos for a friend's art project, according to Police Detective Scott DeCiero.

The photographer friend, Dan Enders, 18, told the Telegram & Gazette he and Mr. Watterson were “simply staging a satirical photography piece on Black Friday.” He added he and his friend, both college students home for break, did not intend to enter the mall and wished only to take photos outside.

“We knew the risks,” Mr. Enders added.

Mr. Brown estimated about 500 to 700 shoppers were in the area for the opening of the mall on the Marlboro-Berlin line early Friday morning but said no one complained to him about the incident.

“It's been a very positive day. People are very focused on buying,” he said. “For us, this was a non-event.”



Shoppers waiting to get into the mall began tweeting wildly about Mr. Watterson and his provocative ensemble. Some posted, with glee, jokes and photos of him while standing in line.



Hung Huynh, 18, of Worcester, snapped a photo of the scantily yet festively clad man. Mr. Huynh said people were excited to be out just after midnight following Thanksgiving dinner, and several were snapping photos together outside the mall entrance.



“We looked over and (there) was a guy in a G-string, so we all started laughing,” he said. “People were cheering him on when the cops took him away."

Contact Samantha Allen at samantha.allen@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @SAllen_89.