Human trafficking is on the rise.
An estimated 250,000 children per year are victims of sex trafficking.
But this Florida Uber driver thought his life was over when an overprotective father mistook him for a child trafficker.
A retired U.S. Army Colonel, 54-year-old Sean Hollenbeck, operates a nonprofit called “The War Horse Project.”
The War Horse Project connects veterans who are suffering from trauma with therapy horses that help them deal with their mental issues.
He served 31 years as an Army Doctor and trained as a Navy flight surgeon.
He was with the 7th Special Forces Group and served six tours overseas.
But now he is a criminal thanks to his daughter.
Hollonbeck’s 13-year-old daughter recently snuck out of the house and took an Uber to Pensacola, Florida.
Just before 11 p.m., the girl returned home to her worried father in an Uber ride.
Given the rise in human trafficking, the worried father thought his daughter may have been picked up by the evil criminals.
That is when he grabbed his AR-15 and headed out the door to approach what he thought was a human trafficker messing with his young daughter.
Hollonbeck forced the Uber driver out of the car, pointed the rifle at his face, and ordered him to get on the ground.
After taking photos of the driver’s license, he allowed him to leave the property unharmed.
“Hollonbeck made the driver show him his license — which he took photographs of, along with his license plate, according to the report,” WEARTV reported. “He reportedly also took photographs of the driver’s ride service account and the address of where he picked up the female.”
His daughter had friends over at the time who witnessed the incident and gave statements to the police.
When the police arrived, Hollonbeck told them he was “afraid for his daughter’s safety and didn’t know who she was with or that she had left without permission.”
But the police arrested him and booked him into the Santa Rosa County Jail where he later posted bond.
He was charged with aggravated assault and kidnap/false imprisonment.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson said that Hollonbeck was “overprotective” and should have gotten the facts correct before putting a rifle in a man’s face.
“As an Uber driver, you’re just trying to make a couple extra bucks on the side, and the next thing you know, you got a gun pointed at you,” Johnson said. “Kinda scary.”
“Obviously you’re talking about a young girl being out late at night,” Johnson said. “If it’s my daughter, I’d be worried as well,” he continued. “But it’s important to get all the facts that you can get prior to engaging somebody.”
Hollonbeck is respected in the local veterans community.
But his reputation is now ruined.
In an interview with WEAR News, he said that he stood by his decision and does not believe that he overreacted.
“That vehicle was completely unmarked,” he said. “In my mind this was not good, right?”
“And everybody knows what’s going on in this country with fentanyl and child trafficking and rape,” he continued. “Terrible stuff.”
Hollonbeck has already lost his job and plans to sell some assets to pay attorney fees.
“I’m gonna sell some of the assets,” he said. “I’m gonna pay my attorney — he just told me the fee.”
“I’ll shut it down. I don’t have a paycheck Monday.”
Hopefully, Hollonbeck will be able to get his charges dropped.
All he did was act like any caring father would have in that situation.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
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Author: rg_tracy
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