A traveling veterinarian accused of sexually battering a teenage girl also faces federal charges of threatening the girl’s mother after she discovered their alleged relationship.

Dr. Gregory Ford, 52, was arrested on Wednesday in Florida, where the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said that he allegedly engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a teenage girl in May. According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, police were first alerted to the alleged crime by the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama, where the girl lives with her mother.

Ford faces not only state charges in Florida but also a federal charge of sending threatening messages after he allegedly told the girl’s mother that he had “already paid a dear friend from the CIA” to kill her.

According to the federal affidavit filed in the Northern District of Alabama obtained by Law&Crime, Ford works as a traveling veterinarian, specializing in horses. While he is primarily based out of Houston, Texas, Ford regularly travels across several states in the South for “shows, races, equine events, and home visits.”

The affidavit stated that Ford met the alleged victim when she was 15 years old and she worked for his veterinary practice.

On Aug. 21, the girl’s mother went through her daughter’s phone and found “sexually explicit” texts between the girl and Ford, allegedly including “discussing plans for having sexual intercourse,” the affidavit says. The mother reported the texts to the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office, whose deputies spoke to the girl the next day, accompanied by an FBI agent.

The girl admitted that she and Ford had sexual encounters “three or four times and had sent nude images to each other.” According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, which was alerted to the allegations on Sept. 3, the girl said the alleged relationship had been going on for about two years and occurred while she was traveling with Ford across several states.

On Sept. 19, detectives with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office received information from the FBI agent that the girl allegedly admitted to a sexual encounter with Ford at his residence in Marion County in May.

Days later, on Sept. 23, the girl’s mother received a lengthy text message from Ford that allegedly stated he had “already paid a dear friend from the CIA to long rifle a bullet in your chest.”

Ford allegedly went on to blame the girl’s mother for making “a mess of things” between him and the teenager, claiming she “absolutely humiliated, broken, and shamed the most perfect of God’s creations,” referring to the girl. While allegedly claiming he and the girl were “in Love” and were going to “run off together” when she turned 18, Ford proclaimed, “LISTEN TO YOUR DAUGHTER AND OUR LOVE STORY! SHE IS MY SOULMATE.”

The same day, Ford allegedly left two voicemails on the girl’s phone, apparently blaming her for the end of their relationship but saying, “She’ll understand one day.”

Ford was arrested in Marion County on charges of sexual battery of a victim between the ages of 16 and 17. He remains in the county jail where he is being held without bond. His next court date was not available. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office stated that due to the nature of these crimes and the traveling nature of his profession, MCSO Major Crimes detectives and the FBI believe Ford may have additional victims across the United States. Anyone with information about other potential victims is asked to contact Detective Josue Rivera at (352) 369-6749.

Ford is also charged with threatening communications in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.