Tim Ballard, the anti-slavery advocate who founded Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), was reportedly forced out of his own organization in June due to a sexual misconduct investigation. Ballard, the subject of this summer’s surprise hit film “Sound of Freedom,” has already formed a new organization and is rumored to be considering a Senate run in Utah.
According to recent media reports, at least seven women claim Ballard made unwanted sexual advances toward them, often under the guise of trying to save children. Ballard, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also has been publicly rebuked by church officials for “activity regarded as morally unacceptable.”
In “Sound of Freedom,” Ballard was played by actor Jim Caviezel, whose previous comments led to speculation that the film is QAnon-adjacent.
Claims Against Tim Ballard
Citing “sources familiar with the situation,” VICE News reported that Tim Ballard “invited women to act as his ‘wife’ on undercover overseas missions ostensibly aimed at rescuing victims of sex trafficking. He would then allegedly coerce those women into sharing a bed or showering together, claiming that it was necessary to fool traffickers.”
For several months, an anonymous letter with similar details has been circulating among OUR employees and Utah philanthropists. It mentions that an OUR employee who traveled on an undercover operation with Ballard later filed a sexual harassment complaint against him with the organization’s HR department.
“This resulted in an extensive internal investigation into Tim and his individual operational tactics and led to more women speaking up,” the letter read. “It was ultimately revealed through disturbingly specific and parallel accounts that Tim has been deceitfully and extensively grooming and manipulating multiple women for the past few years with the ultimate intent of coercing them to participate in sexual acts with him, under the premise of going where it takes and doing ‘whatever it takes’ to save a child.”
Ballard allegedly sent at least one woman a photo of himself in his underwear and asked another woman “how far she was willing to go” to rescue children. He reportedly engaged in this type of behavior with OUR volunteers in addition to employees. Victims have declined to comment, and sources have requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.
Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad Respond
Tim Ballard, who was appointed to a Trump-administration post on an anti-trafficking council, responded to the sexual misconduct allegations over the weekend. During a speech in Boston, he said, “It’s not true. Nothing you hear is true.”
A spokesperson for OUR told VICE News that Ballard resigned in June and the organization “retained an independent law firm to conduct a comprehensive investigation of all relevant allegations.” Because OUR works to combat sexual abuse, the statement noted, the group “does not tolerate sexual harassment or discrimination by anyone.”
