CALGARY — An Alberta man has been charged as part of a sweeping international child sexual exploitation investigation that resulted in arrests across 14 countries, according to Norwegian authorities and Alberta law enforcement.The global operation, known as Operation Torch, was led by the Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service and targeted individuals alleged to have used cryptocurrency to gain access to child sexual abuse material on dark web forums.Among those arrested was 40-year-old Rocco Caterina of Stony Plain, who was taken into custody at his home on May 27 by ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation unit.Caterina has been charged with possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation material. Investigators allege he paid for access to a dark web service that hosted child sexual abuse material.According to a statement released July 8 by the Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service, investigators identified suspects around the world who allegedly used cryptocurrency to purchase access to online forums containing child sexual abuse material..Caterina was later released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court on July 15, 2026.Operation Torch has so far led to the arrest of 28 suspects worldwide. Authorities say the investigation remains ongoing, with coordinated enforcement actions carried out in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania and Sweden.“We have collaborated closely with law enforcement services in 13 other countries in order to coordinate the arrests of the identified users of the forums using this cryptocurrency as the required method of payment,” said Police Prosecutor Terje Michelsen of the Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service.Police are asking anyone with information related to child exploitation offences to contact local law enforcement or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.ALERT, which carried out the Alberta arrest, is funded by the Alberta government and combines specialized law enforcement resources from across the province to investigate serious and organized crime.
