Dragan Jovanovic Pleads guilty

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One of two North Dakota men accused of attempting to kidnap a 14-year-old Bowling Green girl reached a plea agreement Monday.

Dragan Jovanovic, 42, of Fargo, N.D., pleaded guilty in Warren Circuit Court to second-degree unlawful transaction with a minor.

Jovanovic, along with fellow Fargo resident Elvis Tahirovic, 19, were charged with attempted kidnapping in connection with an incident Sept. 21 in which the two men traveled from North Dakota to Bowling Green and attempted to sign a 14-year-old Henry Moss Middle School student out of school.

Police said the girl had been in contact with both men, as well as Jovanovic’s 14-year-old son, through an online social networking site.

The two men, along with two of Jovanovic’s sons, drove 15 hours from North Dakota to Bowling Green to pick up the girl and bring her back to North Dakota, where police said she had planned to live with Jovanovic’s 14-year-old son as either his girlfriend or wife.

The student was absent from school that day and at her parents’ house.

Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chris Cohron said he recommended a three-year sentence for Jovanovic.

Under state law, second-degree unlawful transaction with a minor - a class D felony punishable by one to five years in prison - involves an offender knowingly inducing, assisting or causing a minor to engage in illegal controlled substances activity involving marijuana, illegal gambling activity or any other criminal activity constituting a felony.

Jovanovic is subject to deportation through federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Cohron said.

Tahirovic’s case is pending, and a pretrial conference is scheduled for Jan. 21, according to Cohron.