A traveling horse veterinarian was arrested Wednesday in Florida and charged with sexual battery of a teenage girl.
Gregory Ford, 52, faces a federal charge of threatening communications for allegedly telling the girl’s mother he would hire a hitman to kill her if she continued the investigation into his alleged sexual battery, according to WAFF.
The federal complaint was filed on Wednesday in Alabamap, a day after the threat was made.
The complaint states that the girl’s mother discovered sexually explicit messages on her daughter’s phone last month and notified the police. These messages detailed Ford and the girl’s plans for sexual intercourse, as reported by Law&Crime. After the report, sheriff’s deputies from Lauderdale County and an FBI agent interviewed the girl.
The girl reportedly said she and Ford had sex “three or four times and had sent nude images to each other.”
Ford, who primarily resides in Texas, travels to provide services at farms, horse shows, and races across the country. The teen had accompanied him as an assistant for approximately two years. He was arrested on Wednesday in Marion County, Florida, another of his residences. Deputies there were alerted that they had engaged in sexual activities in May, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Just a day before his arrest, Ford allegedly sent threatening messages to the girl’s mother, urging her to cease her inquiry. The federal complaint reports Ford claimed he had “already paid a dear friend from the CIA to long rifle a bullet in your chest,” as noted by Law&Crime.
Ford further accused the mother of creating turmoil, saying she had “absolutely humiliated, broken, and shamed the most perfect of God’s creations,” referring to the girl. He insisted their love was genuine, planning to “run off together” once she turned 18, and declared, “LISTEN TO YOUR DAUGHTER AND OUR LOVE STORY! SHE IS MY SOULMATE.”
On the same day, Ford left two voicemails on the girl’s phone, seemingly blaming her for the breakup and assuring “she’ll understand one day.”
Ford is being held in Florida without bond, the sheriff’s office there said.
The US Attorney for Northern Alabama, Prim Escalona, told WAFF that more federal charges would “probably” be filed, and the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office said that charges from their end were pending.
