78-Year-Old Man Charged with Assault in Suspicious Person Incident - St Catharines

On Thursday, June 11, 2026, at approximately 9:00 a.m., officers with the Niagara Regional Police Service 1 District (St. Catharines/Thorold) Uniformed Patrol responded to the reports of a Suspicious Person at a park in the Russell Avenue and Catherine Street area of St. Catharines.

A concerned parent had called to advise that a day earlier, June 10, 2026, an older male was watching children at the park, following kids around and talking to them.  At one point the male attempted to grab the young child of the caller.  The caller intervened and was in turn grabbed by the older male.  That same male had returned, started talking to other children and the caller was concerned that the male may act out again.

Police arrived on scene and arrested the male for assault.  The male was identified as 78-year-old Carmelito MARIANO of St. Catharines.

MARIANO remains in custody and is scheduled to attend a bail hearing on Friday, June 12, 2026, at the Robert S.K. Welch Courthouse, located at 59 Church Street in St. Catharines.

Detectives with the 1 District Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB) have taken over the investigation.  They believe that the same male may have approached other children as there are several parks and schools in the Russell Avenue, Lake Street, and Catharines Street areas.  The male is described as Filipino with a dark tanned complexion and was wearing a long sleeve dark navy shirt, shorts and a baseball hat.

Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact the Niagara Regional Police Service’s 1 District CIB at 905-688-4111, option 3, extension 1009703.

Members of the public who wish to provide information anonymously are encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers of Niagara online or by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to persons who contact the program with information that leads to an arrest.

NRPS Incident 26-71103