The female operators, some of whom are participating in the lawsuit, have offered further details of the “couples ruse.” On training trips, Ballard would “ask them to perform lap dances and join him for couples massages,” the lawsuit claims. Further, Ballard allegedly “coerced the women to engage in various sexual acts short of penetration, supposedly in order to maintain the appearance that they were a couple.”
Allegedly, each time, Ballard would ask the women, “Is there anything you wouldn’t do to save a child?”
Ballard Responded to Claims of Sexual Misconduct
Ballard maintains his innocence and defends the undercover tactics of his team.
“This is an ever-changing shakedown by someone who said she was in love with Tim,” Bernstein said in a statement, “and voluntarily chose to travel and work with him in multiple jobs long after the events she alleges occurred.”
“This carefully orchestrated media campaign has purposefully left out a number of important facts that will tell a much different story, including a strong financial motivation for making these false claims,” said Bernstein. “Tim Ballard has dedicated his life to protecting others, and his behavior toward his former friend and colleague has been consistent with that commitment.”
Ballard has also claimed that Borys had access to his emails and provided the prosecution with evidence against Ballard. His attorneys are requesting that these emails be stricken from the record.
LDS Church Leadership Gave a ‘Blessing’ for ‘Couples Ruse,’ Ballard Claims
The lawsuit involving the five women also states that Ballard claimed a church official “had given Ballard permission to do the couples ruse, as long as there is no sexual intercourse or kissing on the lips, and had given him a special priesthood blessing as such.”
However, Ballard has been publicly rebuked by officials of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for “activity regarded as morally unacceptable.”
