A 44-year-old registered sex offender in Alaska was indicted on Tuesday on charges of paying smugglers $5,000 to bring a Honduran woman and her child into the country illegaly.

The child was picked up by Border Patrol agents in Hidalgo last month after crossing the Rio Grande unaccompanied, according to a criminal complaint. 

Douglas Price is facing federal charges of bringing and harboring undocumented individuals in connection with the smuggling scheme.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas, Price is set to be arraigned in Anchorage, Alaska, on Thursday.

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.

Federal court records indicate Price will be transferred to the Rio Grande Valley for his next hearing, which is set for March 16, 2026.