CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A former soldier at Fort Campbell was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to child sexual abuse charges, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday.
According to the DOJ, Donald Lee Collins, 47, of Clarksville, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual abuse of a minor and one count of attempted transfer of obscene material to an individual under age 16. His full sentence is 87 months, or seven years and three months, in federal prison. Additionally, Collins is required to register as a sex offender.
According to court documents, in late December 2019, Collins and the victim, identified as the daughter of a friend of Collins, connected over Facebook Messenger and began exchanging sexually explicit messages and images.
On Dec. 31, 2019, the victim reportedly spent the night at Collins’ house with his teenage daughter. The next morning, Collins sexually abused the girl. Then, as Collins drove the victim to her father’s house on Fort Campbell, he again sexually abused her, both before driving through the gate at Fort Campbell and after they entered the Army base, the DOJ said.
Court documents state Collins continued to engage in sexually explicit communication with the victim through Facebook Messenger after Jan. 1, 2020.
As a result of that conduct, Collins was other than honorably discharged by the Army.
Following his prison sentence, Collins will be on supervised release for another 10 years, according to the DOJ.
