Editors note: After this article was published, a soldier who served with Ruggiero since 2005 told The Salty Soldier that his retirement approval was later rescinded due to the criminal charges, preventing him from retiring in good standing as a sergeant first class.
A federal jury in Newport News, Virginia, has convicted a recently retired U.S. Army sergeant first class — who served as an 88L Watercraft Engineer — of sexually abusing a foreign exchange student he hosted and of receiving child sexual abuse material.
Retired SFC Anthony George Ruggiero, 42, of Gloucester, was found guilty on Nov. 19 of coercion and enticement of a minor and receipt of CSAM, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Prosecutors said Ruggiero and his family hosted the foreign exchange student in 2021 and 2022 while he was serving on active duty. After she returned to her home country, the student reported to medical professionals that she had been sexually abused during her time living in the United States.
Ruggiero’s social media posts from the period of the abuse indicate he held the rank of staff sergeant at the time and was later promoted to sergeant first class in 2022.
Investigators found sexually explicit messages between Ruggiero and the victim showing that the conduct occurred while she was 15 and 16 years old. According to court evidence, the messages continued after she left the country and included requests for explicit photos, sexually graphic conversations, and references to past and future sexual encounters.
Ruggiero was also convicted of receiving five CSAM videos involving an identified victim in Texas.
A retirement memorandum dated May 29, 2024, issued by U.S. Army Human Resources Command, approved his voluntary retirement with an effective date of Aug. 1, 2025.
A soldier who previously deployed with Ruggiero told The Salty Soldier that concerns about his behavior were known among those who had served with him as far back as 2009.
“Deployed with this absolute foul pos, everyone always knew he was a disgusting pervert, glad the world finally came down on him,” the former soldier said. “He’d always go and take the rattiest hookers on dates, make out with them, try and buy their contracts, walk ’em around town. It got so bad he tried to bring one back on base and was put under investigation.”
Then-Sergeant Ruggiero sends a holiday greeting home to his wife and daughter from Kuwait in 2014.
Ruggiero faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life. Sentencing is scheduled for March 18, 2026.
The investigation involved assistance from the Spanish National Police, the Spanish Embassy, and the Grand Prairie Police Department in Texas. The case was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a national Department of Justice initiative focused on combating child exploitation.
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