OCALA, FL (352today.com) – An Ocala man has been arrested in connection with a Putnam County investigation into alleged online communication with someone he believed to be a child.
Twenty-six-year-old Caleb Steven Roberts was arrested Wednesday, June 24, 2026, by the Tampa Police Department on an out-of-county warrant following an investigation that began in April.
Investigators said the case stemmed from an April 21 incident after the YouTube group Operation 17:2 confronted Roberts over alleged online messages involving someone he believed to be a minor. Officers with the Palatka Police Department and Putnam County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene, but Roberts was not arrested at that time.
Police said the information provided by the private group could not be accepted at face value and required an independent criminal investigation before any charges could be filed. According to investigators, that investigation resulted in an arrest warrant being issued June 9. Roberts was located in Hillsborough County and taken into custody by the Tampa Police Department on June 24.
Roberts faces charges of traveling to meet a minor, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, transmitting harmful material to a minor by electronic device and soliciting a child, or a person believed to be a child, for unlawful sexual conduct using a computer service or electronic device.
Jail records show Roberts was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on the Putnam County warrant and later released after posting a $10,000 surety bond.
Roberts is the son of former Victory Church pastors Steve and Angie Roberts of Palatka. Following the allegations that surfaced in April, the church announced the couple would step down from their leadership roles, stating there is “no place in the body of Christ for sexual misconduct or the abuse of trust in any form.”
The case remains pending in Putnam County.