Man accused of threatening to kill woman after she found him dating her teen daughter

LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Ala. (WAFF/Gray News) - An Alabama man is accused of threatening to kill a woman after she found out about a sexual relationship between him and her teen daughter.

According to court records, Gregory Ford, 52, is charged with threatening communication after telling a mother he was hiring a hitman to kill her if she continued to involve her daughter in a sex crime investigation against him.

A criminal complaint was filed on Wednesday, a day after the reported threat was made.

In the complaint, the FBI accuses Ford of having sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl who lives in the Florence area.

Authorities said the girl started working for Ford within the past year. Ford lives in Texas, but he’s a traveling veterinarian who attends horse shows and races in Alabama.

Investigators say the investigation began about a month ago when the mother found sexually explicit messages on her daughter’s phone. The teen told them she had sex with Ford and exchanged explicit photos with him.

Prim Escalona, the U.S. attorney for North Alabama, said the parent did the right thing to let authorities know about finding an accused predator in her child’s life.

“They will take every opportunity they can to exploit our children,” Escalona said. “So, we want to make sure that people know about that and that they are always vigilant.”

Investigators said Ford sent a threatening text message to the mother from a fake number saying, “LISTEN TO YOUR DAUGHTER AND OUR LOVE STORY. SHE IS MY SOULMATE,” and “You’ve absolutely humiliated, broken and shamed the most perfect of God’s creations (this is on you, not me, she and I would have just run off together at 18 anyway).”

From there, things reportedly got even more bizarre.

Ford became threatening, texting the mother: “If you choose to continue your crusade, I have already paid a dear friend from the CIA to long rifle a bullet in your chest.”

Escalona said Alabama authorities are working to keep the mother protected while their investigation continues.

“We want to make sure that that mother is as safe as possible and that the individual is apprehended as quickly as possible,” she said. “A quick reaction, looking at charges in an ongoing investigation, that there will probably be more that comes down the road.”

Ford was arrested on Wednesday in Florida and has also been charged with sexual assault, but it’s unclear whether that charge is connected to this investigation.

Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office says additional charges on their end are pending.