Five women sued Monday the founder of an anti-child trafficking group that inspired a popular film this year, alleging he sexually manipulated, abused and harassed them on trips abroad to lure and capture child traffickers.
Tim Ballard’s life story and his work with Operation Underground Railroad inspired “Sound of Freedom,” a 2023 film popular with conservative moviegoers.
He recently resigned from the group amid allegations of sexual abuse and harassment, which he has denied.
The complaints against Ballard center on a “couple racket” he allegedly committed with women from Operation Underground Railroad, whom he persuaded to pose as his wife to fool child traffickers into thinking he was a legitimate customer, the complaint says lawsuit filed in Utah state court.
The ploy began with Ballard and women in the organization traveling across the country to “practice” their “sexual chemistry” with tantric yoga, couples massages with escorts and performing lap dances on Ballard, the lawsuit says.
A lawsuit accuses famed child trafficking advocate Tim Ballard of sexually abusing five women and then forcing them to pose as his wife
According to a source, Ballard allegedly sent at least one woman a photo of herself in her underwear and asked another “how far she was willing to go” to save children
While promotional materials portrayed the group’s overseas missions as “paramilitary missions to arrest human traffickers and rescue children,” they mostly involved “visits to strip clubs and massage parlors around the world after flying there first class and around had spent the night there at five o’clock”. in star hotels, on boats and at VRBOs around the world,” the lawsuit says.
Several women were ultimately subjected to “forced sexual contact,” including “multiple sexual acts other than actual penetration, in various stages of nudity,” the lawsuit says.
Even in private: “Ballard would maintain that he and his partner must maintain the appearance of a romantic relationship at all times, in case suspected traffickers might come under surveillance at any moment.”
The 47-year-old is said to have pressured the women into sharing a bed with him or showering together, telling them that this was to convince the traffickers that they were married, even though the accommodation was always in designated areas “safe houses” that had separate bedrooms and bathrooms.
She accuses Ballard of forcing the women to practice their romantic interactions through massages, escorts and lap dances – all funded by the group.
According to a source, Ballard allegedly sent at least one woman a photo of herself in underwear covered in fake tattoos and asked another “how far she was willing to go” to save children.
The lawsuit also states that two marriages failed because of Ballard’s actions, with him offering to pay for a divorce lawyer for one victim.
Ballard claimed to the women who operated with him that if his wife died, he would marry them immediately.
Ballard would insist that the women remain silent about their alleged sexual encounters with him because if they told anyone it would endanger the lives of everyone on the undercover mission as it was necessary to save the trafficked children.
The women said Ballard would also quote scripture to the women, using a Bible passage in which a prophet is instructed by the Holy Spirit to kill a man, and claiming that the Holy Spirit sometimes asks people to do “unconventional” tasks to carry out.
According to the lawsuit, some of the women did not come forward to OUR management until the spring of 2023, resulting in Ballard’s firing.
In a video posted to Instagram, he appeared to admit that some of his missions actually involved pairing up with fake wives, but claimed that this was a legitimate tactic known as “couple ruse” used to deceive human traffickers.
He claimed it allowed male agents to reject offers of sex from traffickers with minors by claiming their wife would disapprove, while maintaining their credibility.
The women, who filed the lawsuit under pseudonyms, allege that Ballard used his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his connections to church leaders to convince them that his actions were only for the benefit of needy children.
A screenshot of the Mormon Church’s internal database shows that Tim Ballard does not appear in a family directory, but instead his wife Katherine is listed as “head of household.” His children’s names have been redacted to protect their anonymity
Ballard said church President M. Russell Ballard, no relation, gave him special permission to use the ruse on couples “as long as there was no sexual intercourse or kissing.”
In a September statement, the church condemned Tim Ballard for “unauthorized use” of the church president’s name for personal gain and “activities deemed morally unacceptable,” without specifying what the activity was.
But it appears the church has now cut ties with the married father of nine entirely as a search of its internal database failed to turn up his records.
A church disciplinary council was reportedly held on September 27 before Ballard received a letter informing him of his excommunication two days later.
The church has not confirmed this and Ballard’s wife, Katherine, said that the couple is “in contact” with their local church leaders but that “such discussions – as required by the church – are strictly confidential and extremely personal.”
Ballard’s wife, Katherine, stood by her husband in the wake of the allegations against him
According to a now-completed FBI investigation, Tim Ballard claimed his anti-human trafficking activities were blessed by Mormon Church elder M. Russell Ballard to convert more Americans to the Utah-based faith. The church denies that Elder Ballard did this
Sources have told that the Mormon Church is trying to protect its own legal position by distancing itself from Ballard. But her tentative public position suggests she is afraid of alienating her base, many of whom are fiercely loyal to Ballard and his work.
The excommunication would mark a dizzying fall from grace for Ballard, who had recently touted a run for the Senate.
Tim Ballard claimed a passage in the Book of Mormon justified performing “unconventional” tasks, the lawsuit says.
“Ballard was treated with ketamine and had a scribe accompany him as he spoke to the dead prophet Nephi and uttered prophecies of Ballard’s greatness and future as a U.S. Senator, President of the United States, and ultimately as a Mormon prophet” in the Second Coming Christ,” the lawsuit says.
Just last month, Ballard said he was “seriously considering” a run for the Utah Senate following the success of Sound of Freedom, a film based on his exploits in the fight against human trafficking
Days before the church condemned Ballard, Mitt Romney announced he would not seek a second term representing Utah in the U.S. Senate.
Ballard, who said he was considering a run for the Senate, blamed recent sexual allegations against him on political opponents.
Days after Ballard announced his candidacy, Vice News reported that seven women who worked with OUR had made allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
Ballard’s prominence as an opponent of child trafficking earned him an invitation to the White House under President Donald Trump.
Ballard was previously a special adviser to Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and was appointed to a White House anti-human trafficking committee in 2019.