A U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Campbell has been arrested and charged with child sexual exploitation offenses, according to an announcement from Robert E. McGuire, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. The criminal complaint against Robert Cecilio, 39, of Clarksville, Tennessee, was unsealed today. Cecilio was taken into custody by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Court documents state that from May 1, 2024, to the present, Cecilio communicated with at least three minor female victims through Snapchat and persuaded them to send him nude photos and videos. A search warrant for Snapchat records revealed more than 8,400 contacts—including messages, images, and videos—between Cecilio and one of the victims.
Cecilio was detained on August 8, 2025, by Army Criminal Investigation Division Special Agents and Military Police Officers as he entered Fort Campbell. After waiving his Miranda rights, Cecilio admitted to using several Snapchat accounts—including those with variations of the name “Gabe”—to communicate with minors. He confessed to engaging in inappropriate sexual communications with many minor girls over an extended period and acknowledged receiving numerous images and videos he understood to be child pornography.
If found guilty, Cecilio faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a possible maximum fine of $250,000.
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Nashville Field Office (Clarksville Resident Agency) and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica R. Morrison is prosecuting the case.
"This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc."
Authorities emphasize that a criminal complaint is merely an allegation; Cecilio is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
