A New Jersey judge agreed to release Mark Paulino, the man known as "Santa Mark," from jail while he awaits his criminal trial for child pornography charges.

The prosecution painted Paulino as a child predator, but the defense rejected that, saying Paulino spent years entertaining children and spreading holiday joy as Santa Claus.

Paulino, 64, appeared before a judge in a Mercer County courtroom wearing an orange jumpsuit with family members looking on.

He was arrested on Dec. 5 and charged with distribution of child sex abuse material, possession and endangering the welfare of a child.

Officials said the investigation began on Dec. 3 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children got a cyber tip from Yahoo that a user had uploaded child pornography and that it happened again two days later.

Prosecutors said Paulino was emailing files of partially nude children to himself.

Prosecutors alleged one of those emails also had a video of a Hamilton Township Elementary School student sitting in her bedroom during school instructional time.

Paulino recently retired as a Hamilton Township School District elementary teacher and worked seasonally as a Santa Claus actor.

Detectives said that because of his regular contact with children, they moved quickly to get a search warrant and seize evidence from his home.

Paulino pleaded not guilty.

His defense attorney poked holes in the prosecution's case, pointing out that one of the cyber tips allegedly came from the Bronx, New York, where her client doesn't live.

"This is probably the saddest case of a rush to judgment that I've ever seen in my 40 years of practicing law," Robin Kay Lord, Paulino's lawyer, said. "They got a cyber tip, so they know that somebody out there on the World Wide Web has alleged child pornography. They have yet to connect it to this gentleman."

The judge ordered Paulino to have no contact with children while his case proceeds. If convicted of the most serious charge, he faces five to 20 years in prison.