A Fort Bragg infantryman once accused of killing his infant daughter — and later acquitted — is back in handcuffs. This time, Fayetteville police say he was caught secretly peeping on a 15-year-old girl inside a JCPenney fitting room at Cross Creek Mall.
For a soldier who only months ago walked away from a military court-martial involving the violent death of his 8-month-old daughter, this latest arrest is raising serious questions about a disturbing pattern of behavior.
According to Fayetteville Police Department documents, officers were called to JCPenney on Oct. 24 after witnesses reported a man attempting to photograph a juvenile changing clothes. Investigators say the suspect used a camera attached to a stick to slip under the fitting room door and record a 15-year-old girl.
The arrest warrant identifies the suspect as Gabriel Alejandro Ceville, 30, an infantryman with the 82nd Airborne Division. The charging document states Ceville “unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously” created images of the girl “for the purpose of arousing and gratifying the sexual desire of a person.”
The warrant was issued Nov. 8. Ceville was arrested Nov. 11 and booked into the Cumberland County Detention Center.
Bond was set at $20,000 secured, according to release orders and bond modifications filed Nov. 11–13. The court also imposed standard “no contact” conditions and prohibited him from possessing weapons or consuming drugs or alcohol.
He faces one felony count of Secret Peeping under N.C. Gen. Statute 14-202.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 2, 2025, in Cumberland County District Court.
Police also confirmed that Ceville is facing indecent exposure charges in Pennsylvania from earlier this year, stemming from an incident at another mall. That case also involved inappropriate behavior in a public space.
Many in Fayetteville likely remember Ceville’s name because he spent much of 2024 at the center of one of Fort Bragg’s most disturbing child-death cases.
In February 2023, Ceville’s 8-month-old daughter, Misty Lue Delatorre, arrived at the hospital with catastrophic injuries. An autopsy reported trauma “highly associated with abusive head injury in infants.” The infant suffered extensive wounds to her head, eyes, spine, and neck.
The Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel recommended charges of unpremeditated murder, manslaughter, and domestic violence. A general court-martial was set for January 2025.
But in early 2025, a panel found Ceville not guilty.
The baby’s mother and grandmother publicly described the injuries as horrific and said the family continues to struggle with the loss of the child.
While an acquittal legally ended the military case, it did little to settle the lingering unease surrounding the circumstances of Misty’s death. The fact that Ceville was alone with the baby when she suffered the fatal injuries remained a point of contention throughout the investigation.
Now, less than a year later, Ceville is again facing accusations involving a minor — this time in a public mall, using a camera stick to secretly record a teenage girl.
The case remains active, and Ceville is legally presumed innocent unless proven guilty. But this is a soldier who:
- was once charged with the violent death of his infant daughter
- was later accused of indecent exposure in another state
- and is now accused of filming a 15-year-old changing clothes
According to the bond release orders, he listed a home on Lawson Drive — part of Fort Bragg’s married-soldier housing — as his residence of record.”
The conditions of his release bar him from contacting the victim, possessing weapons, consuming alcohol or controlled substances, or coming within 100 yards of the protected witness. He was also ordered to submit fingerprints and a DNA sample prior to release.
What remains unclear is whether the Army is actively supervising Ceville following his release. The documents do not indicate whether his command placed him under restriction, monitoring, or military protective orders. For a soldier who was once the subject of a high-profile child-death trial and now faces new allegations involving a minor, the lack of clarity around military oversight leaves open serious questions about accountability and risk.
A disposition hearing is scheduled for December 2.
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