Catskill man arrested on child sexual exploitation charges | hudsonvalley360.com

Giovanni Fascella, 57, of Catskill, was arrested last Tuesday and charged with promoting a sexual performance by a child, a class D felony, and possessing a sexual performance by a child, a class E felony, according to the state police in Latham.

The charges against Fascella stem from a search on May 26, 2022 at his former residence in Coeymans, where the police discovered the illegal images. State police said the investigation was commissioned by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Fascella was convicted in early 2022 of similar charges related to a 2020 incident, resulting in 10 years of probation, said Stephanie O’Neil, public information officer for state police Troop G.

Fascella was arrested in December 2020 for promoting and possessing a child sexual performance involving an 8-year-old girl. He served 10 years of probation and was mandated to register as a Level 2 sex offender after his March 2022 conviction on the 2020 charges, according to the state sex offender registry.

Fascella’s arrest last week followed a lengthy investigation initiated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which uncovered material related to child sexual exploitation, according to state police.

The State Police Troop G Computer Crimes Unit, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security arrested the 57-year-old on charges of promoting and possessing images related to child sexual exploitation.

Fascella was arraigned in Coeymans Town Court and held without bail at the Albany County Correctional Facility.

The case is still under investigation by the police.

–