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Fort Campbell soldier pleads guilty to child exploitation charges

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Fort Campbell soldier from Clarksville pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal child exploitation and child pornography charges.

Robert Cecilio, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, four counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Prosecutors said Cecilio used Snapchat accounts under variations of the name “Gabe” to communicate with minor girls from at least June 2024 until his arrest in August 2025. Investigators identified five victims, ranging in age from 13 to 18, in Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Federal agents searched Cecilio’s Clarksville home and seized multiple electronic devices. Prosecutors said Cecilio later admitted to sexually explicit communications with numerous minor girls and to receiving child sexual abuse material.

Cecilio is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 21. He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison on each sexual exploitation count, along with additional prison time on the receipt and possession counts.

The FBI’s Nashville Field Office, Clarksville Resident Agency, and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case.