A leader of a company gathering steam as a data and artificial intelligence provider to the Defense Department has been arrested for allegedly soliciting an underage girl for sex.
Eric T. Gillespie, the founder and chairman of Govini, has been charged as part of a sting operation by the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office and the Lebanon County, Pennsylvania district attorney’s office.
A law enforcement agent with the attorney general’s office posing as a preteen girl allegedly connected with Gillespie in an online chat. Gillespie then attempted to arrange a meeting with the girl, according to the attorney general’s office.
Gillespie was charged on Monday with four felony counts and is being held without bail in a Lebanon County jail.
The charges come as the company has built out its defense business and attracted new private equity investment.
The company told Washington Technology that Gillespie was placed on administrative leave when the company learned of the charges on Monday.
“We acknowledge the severity of these charges and as a company will hold all our employees to the highest ethical standards. We stand steadfast in support of all victims of abuse of any kind,” the company said in the statement.
The company, led by CEO Tara Murphy Dougherty, did not respond to a request for further comment.
Govini got its start in the federal market in 2011 as a data provider helping companies track contract awards and upcoming procurements. But over time, it has transitioned into a software provider for government agencies with tools to help them manage their acquisition processes.
The company touts $100 million in annual revenue and attracted a $150 million investment from Bain Capital, which was announced in October. That money is earmarked for investment in Govini’s offerings such as its Ark AI application and the hiring of more tech practitioners.
“This investment validates not just the current position achieved by our incredibly talented team, but also our long-term goal of fundamentally rewiring how defense and national security communities make decisions with AI and data,” Gillespie said of the Bain investment at the time.
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