A senior defense official in the Pentagon’s education sector in the United States was allegedly caught red-handed pimping during a major police operation against human trafficking, which led to the arrest of 26 people.
“We are aware of an alleged incident involving an employee of the [Département de la défense des activités d’éducation] DoDEA in the Americas region. Given the litigation, it would be inappropriate to provide further comment at this time,” DoDEA said in a statement to Channel 2 Action News on Wednesday.
NEW: Pentagon official Stephen Francis Hovanic was reportedly arrested in a human trafficking operation in Georgia that resulted in over two dozen people being arrested on charges of solicitation, drug possession, prostitution and pimping.
It gets worse. Hovanic worked for the Ministry of Defense, notably… pic.twitter.com/EJvxep2BCj
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 22, 2023
Stephen Hovanic, 64, was reportedly handcuffed along with 25 other people during a two-day police operation against human trafficking in Georgia last week, Fox5 Atlanta reported.
The 60-year-old Sharpsburg man, identified as the head of schools for the U.S. Department of Defense, was charged with pimping by the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office for allegedly soliciting sex from an undercover agent in a motel room, according to American media information.
However, according to Fox5 Atlanta, he defended himself to authorities by claiming he was trying to buy a massage, not sex.
In total, 26 people were arrested during the operation on various charges including pimping and prostitution. However, the investigation is ongoing and could lead to further arrests.
The operation would also have made it possible to identify six human trafficking victims who would have been offered assistance, according to a preliminary assessment of the operation.