A Pentagon official was arrested during a recent human trafficking sting alongside multiple other suspects in Georgia, according to the Coweta County Sheriff’s office.
Stephen Hovanic is accused of soliciting sex at a motel from an undercover agent, Fox News reported Monday:
The man has reportedly worked in that position since 2010. Now, the 64-year-old has been charged with pandering for allegedly soliciting sex in one of the motel’s rooms.
Video footage appears to show Hovanic with the undercover officer in the motel room on November 15. The man reportedly later claimed he was there for a massage:
The Fox report noted the outlet contacted the DoDEA but did not get a response, noting, “The federal school system did, however, list Hovanic’s former position as chief of staff for the Americas as ‘vacant’ on its website.”
During the two-day operation, officials rescued six human trafficking victims. The U.S. Department of Justice defines human trafficking as “a crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts.”
“The coercion can be subtle or overt, physical or psychological. Exploitation of a minor for commercial sex is human trafficking, regardless of whether any form of force, fraud, or coercion was used,” the agency said.
Meanwhile, the DoDEA has since said officials are aware of the alleged incident regarding a DoDEA employee but referred questions to the local police agencies investigating the case.
According to the Fox report, “The DoDEA operates 160 schools located across 11 countries, seven states, Guam and Puerto Rico. The school system employs about 15,000 people and serves nearly 70,000 children of military and DoD families.”
Breitbart News has reported extensively on the problem of human trafficking.
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