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Son of former Edmonton councillor arrested in international child sex exploitation investigation
Posted July 8, 2026 8:25 am.
Last Updated July 8, 2026 10:59 am.
The son of a former Edmonton city councillor is among 28 suspects arrested around the world in an investigation into child sexual exploitation.
Rocco Caterina, 40, was arrested at his home in Stony Plain, Alta., by ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation unit on May 27.
He is the son of Tony Caterina, a longtime Edmonton city councillor who ran for mayor last year.
The accused allegedly obtained material depicting child sexual abuse by paying, with cryptocurrency, for access to dark web forums.
Rocco Caterina was charged with possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation materials. The allegations against him have not been tested in court. He is scheduled to appear in court July 15.
Operation Torch, headed by the Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS), led to the arrests of 28 suspects in 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, the UK, 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 NCIS.
The suspects range in age from 22 to 54, according to a press release by Norway’s NCIS, and 460 items were seized from them, including electronic devices and crypto wallets.
Operation Torch remains ongoing.
