Houston traveling veterinarian arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor

Man arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor

A traveling veterinarian based in Houston is behind bars for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor.

TEXAS - A traveling veterinarian based in Houston is behind bars for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor. 

The FBI has had more than a dozen other victims come forward since the victim and her mother went to the police. 

The backstory:

The vet is well-known in the horse world and works a lot with barrel racers. He is often on the road, traveling to races in several states outside Texas, including Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee. 

52-year-old Gregory Ford, of Houston, is in the Marion County Jail in Florida after a criminal complaint was filed against him out of Alabama. 

The world-class traveling veterinarian is accused of grooming an underage girl, exchanging nude photos, and having sex multiple times. 

Spencer Kuvin is the attorney on the case. He is the Chief Legal Officer and Litigation Director at GOLDLAW in West Palm Beach, Florida. Spencer Kuvin has worked on several high-profile cases defending victims of Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Cosby, and Hugh Hefner. 

"The relationship started when she was 16, and it went on for about two years," said Spencer Kuvin. "According to the FBI, they're interviewing a number of potential victims, and there could be upwards of 13 to 15 other women." 

The arrest shocked much of the horse world, including a barrel racer who had known Dr. Ford for more than 20 years. Kayla Langford lives in New Berlin, outside of San Antonio. 

"I would have never, never thought it, never in a million years would I have thought it," said Kayla Langford. "He proved me wrong."

Gregory Ford

Ford specialized in performance equine care. According to documents, the victim began working at his practice when she was 16. She graduated from high school early and was a freshman in college, traveling with five other teens her age. 

"There were numerous, numerous young girls that wanted to work in the industry of horses and be able to train in this field," said Kuvin. "She was very excited to get the opportunity to be able to intern with a veterinarian like Dr. Ford."

"There were always younger girls around, and I thought, well, how nice of him that he's mentoring these young horse girls," said Langford. 

The victim's mother went through her phone and found sexually explicit text messages between her daughter and Ford. The mother went straight to the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department to report it. 

"Dr. Ford was professing his love, saying this was the love of his life. They should get married, even though he was already married, by the way, and run away," said Kuvin. "He was literally cutting and pasting those text messages and stories to the other girls. You could compare them side by side, and they're nearly identical." 

Ford then threatened the victim's mother when she confronted him, writing in part that he had, "already paid a dear friend from the CIA to long rifle a bullet in your chest." 

"I've spoken with a number of other victims directly who felt that they were the only ones," said Kuvin. 

Statement from the victim

What's next:

The doctor will be arraigned later this month, at which time he will enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Then, a trial date will be set. 

When asked about whether Ford has a criminal background, Kuvin replied: "No, none that we can determine, and that's the scary thing, you know? As a parent myself, you wanna be able to protect your children from bad people. So you look into people, you check their background, you see whether they have a history. This gentleman apparently had a proclivity that had remained a secret for years." 

What you can do:

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 Rivera at (352) 369-6749.