A man who stalked and preyed on two young women who met for a “girls’ day” in 2018 has been convicted of burglary, kidnapping, and sexual battery while threatening to use a deadly weapon.
A Seminole County jury returned a guilty verdict Jan. 24 against BENJAMIN V. HOVAN following a three-day trial presented by Assistant State Attorneys Martine McCarthy, Domenick Leo and Paul Brill.
Witnesses said HOVAN, armed with a knife and crowbar, forced his way into a Casselberry-area apartment where the women had just unloaded packages and groceries. HOVAN pursued them into a bedroom, where he pinned both to a bed and chose one to sexually batter. Then, HOVAN forced both to drive him to an ATM at a Publix grocery store in Maitland to withdraw and give him money.
HOVAN held one of the women with him behind the store near her silver Toyota Matrix while the other walked around the building to the ATM, where she flagged-down a store employee who called 911. Before police arrived, HOVAN fled alone in the Toyota, which he later abandoned.
After a weeklong manhunt, HOVAN was spotted by police in Titusville, shot with a Taser during a foot chase, and arrested. HOVAN’S court appearances and trial were delayed by court closures during the COVID pandemic.
BODYCAM VIDEO: Police chase, tase and arrest HOVAN
At trial, a crime-scene investigator for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that HOVAN’s fingerprints were found on the gearshift of the stolen Toyota and on an empty Red Bull can found in the apartment’s front porch area.
Other evidence included surveillance video from a Walmart store that captured HOVAN tailing the victims into the parking lot in a stolen white Toyota minivan, waiting while they shopped, then following them out shortly before the attack. Police later discovered that white minivan in the parking lot at the victim’s apartment complex.
In a joint statement, ASA’s McCarthy, Leo and Brill said, “We are more than pleased with the verdict and that the jurors followed the law, had the willingness to listen to difficult evidence, and helpe bring justice to the two victims.”
Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler scheduled HOVAN’s sentencing for Feb. 24. HOVAN remains in the Seminole County jail.
