COWETA COUNTY, GEORGIA: According to reports, senior Pentagon officer Stephen Francis Hovanic was one of the more than two dozen individuals detained during a recent two-day human trafficking operation in Coweta County, Atlanta. 

As per the Coweta County Sheriff's Office and its Police to Citizen Portal website, Hovanic was taken into custody on November 15 during a sting that resulted in the arrest of 25 other suspects on accusations of prostitution, drug use, possession of firearms, and outstanding warrants.

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The military magazine Stars and Stripes reported that the 64-year-old Sharpsburg resident Stephen Hovanic is the Chief of Staff for Defense Department schools in the United States.

Stephen Hovanic has been a part of DoDEA since 1996

The Department of Defense Education (DoDEA) website states that Stephen Hovanic took over as Chief of Staff for DoDEA America, formerly known as the Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools, in October 2010.

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Having spent over 40 years in the field of education, he first joined DoDEA in 1996 as the assistant principal of Quantico High School after serving as a high school vocational teacher, coach, and administrator in the Virginia public school system.

As per Military.com, Hovanic was appointed principal of Dahlgren School, located in Virginia, in 2001. He remained there until 2008, at which point he moved to work as an Instructional Systems Specialist at the department's area service center, located in Peachtree City, Georgia.

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A DoDEA spokesman, William Griffin, claimed Hovanic is currently on leave from his job.

Stephen Hovanic was caught during a two-day human trafficking operation in Coweta County

The Coweta County Sheriff's Office charged Stephen Hovanic with pandering, which is an offense that includes pressuring or coercing someone to engage in prostitution. In Georgia, soliciting a sex worker's services for oneself or making arrangements for a third party is a misdemeanor offense.

According to deputies, Hovanic allegedly asked an undercover investigator for sex in a motel room where the department had set up the two-day human trafficking operation, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.

Deputies reported that 26 individuals were taken into custody during the sting for offenses such as pandering, prostitution, and pimping.

On November 17, Sheriff's Office spokesperson Sergeant Toby Nix told Newnan Times-Herald that "pandering is not a victimless crime, as the demand for prostitution drives the sex-trafficking market."

Additionally, the office reported that assistance was extended to six women they recognized as victims of human trafficking. Hovanic allegedly admitted to authorities that he believed he was paying the woman, who turned out to be an undercover officer, for a massage rather than for sex.

According to deputies, there may be more arrests and charges in the ongoing investigation into human trafficking.