Stony Plain man arrested in global child exploitation investigation spanning 14 countries
Rocco Caterina, 40, is among 28 suspects worldwide charged after a Norwegian-led police probe into dark web abuse material.
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A 40-year-old from Stony Plain was arrested at his home on May 27 as part of Operation Touch, a massive global investigation led by Norway's National Criminal Investigation Service into child sexual exploitation.
Rocco Caterina was charged with possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation materials. The allegations have not been tested in court. He is scheduled to appear in court on July 15.
The investigation resulted in 28 arrests across 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania and Sweden. Investigators say the accused obtained material depicting child sexual abuse by paying for access to dark web forums using cryptocurrency.
AREST's Internet Child Exploitation unit arrested Caterina. Investigators seized 460 items from suspects worldwide, including electronic devices and crypto wallets.
Operation Touch remains ongoing.
