A registered sex offender in Alaska was sentenced on Tuesday in McAllen to three years of probation after confessing to paying smugglers $5,000 to bring a Honduran woman and her daughter into the country illegally, accoridng to federal court records.

The child was picked up by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Hidalgo in January 2026 after crossing the Rio Grande unaccompanied, according to previous reports. 

Federal court records show Douglas Price pleaded guilty in May to a charge of bringing in and harboring undocumented people. 

According to the criminal complaint, the Honduran child — believed to be 14 or 15 years old based on screenshots on Price’s phone — was apprehended on Jan. 16, 2026, and said her destination was in Chugiak, Alaska, to meet with Price.

The child said she had traveled from Honduras with her mother, and that Price was sending her mother money to pay smuggling fees via her phone. 

The complaint said the child told investigators that her mother said Price would be the child’s sponsor and help the mother obtain citizenship.

The child’s mother was apprehended six days later and said she met Price four years ago when they worked together in the hotel remodeling business and became friends. The woman was also Price’s housekeeper and babysat his children.

The woman said she had been in frequent contact with Price throughout her journey from Honduras and that Price was getting the funds through his business, Black Bear Construction. 

The woman said she intended to pay Price back by working for him, the complaint added.

Investigators searched the mother’s phone and confirmed the transfer of funds. The complaint added that Price was a registered sex offender, but did not say if he planned to sexually assault the mother and child.

Price had faced up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.