Fort Leonard Wood Soldier Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison for Child Pornography Crimes

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. – A Soldier who pleaded guilty to possessing, producing, and distributing child pornography was sentenced by the military judge to 28 years in prison during his court-martial Oct. 14 at the Fort Leonard Wood courtroom.

Spc. Gabriel Perez, 24, a combat engineer assigned to the 35th Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade, was also sentenced to total forfeiture of pay and allowances, reduction in rank to E-1, and a dishonorable discharge from the Army.

In September 2024, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division received Cybertips from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children regarding three videos of child pornography that Perez distributed using his Snapchat account.

Army CID agents initiated an investigation and obtained a warrant to seize Perez’s iPhone. They discovered he had at least 18 conversations with girls under the age of 18.

He initially targeted several victims located throughout the United States on various social media platforms. After earning their trust on social media, Perez migrated their conversations to text messages. He then initiated online relationships with the girls and began engaging in sexually explicit conversations.

Perez eventually requested sexually explicit photos and videos from the victims, who ranged in age from 13 to 17 years old. He used emotional manipulation to coerce the victims into producing child pornography and sending it to him whenever he demanded. These tactics went so far as threats to expose the girls to their friends and families, or telling them to kill themselves.

Further analysis of Perez’s phone revealed that from June 2023 to December 2024, he downloaded and saved to a hidden folder a library of child sexual abuse material containing over 160 explicit videos and over 180 explicit photos.

“The Office of Special Trial Counsel, Army CID, and the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate take CSAM and crimes against children seriously. The outcome of this case is a testament to how this strong partnership ensured that justice was served,” said Capt. Derek Sanchez, prosecutor, Fourth Circuit, Army OSTC.

“Spc. Perez systematically groomed vulnerable children and betrayed their innocence for abuse and exploitation,” said Special Agent in Charge John McCabe, Army CID’s Midcentral Field Office. “While no verdict can undo the trauma he has inflicted, this sentence is a fitting end and removes a dangerous predator from our community.”

Perez will serve his prison sentence at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Upon release from prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender under federal and state statutory requirements.

This case was investigated by Army CID’s Fort Leonard Wood Resident Agency.

About the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel:

The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel is composed of specially trained military lawyers, legal professionals and support staff responsible for the expert prosecution of murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, kidnapping and other serious criminal offenses. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., OSTC has eight regional headquarters that oversee 28 field offices located worldwide, including locations in Europe and Korea. For more information visit.

If you would like to report a crime, have information about a crime, or have been the subject or survivor of a crime, you can submit anonymous tips to Army CID