Tim Ballard, the founding father of the famend anti-child slavery group, Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R), and the inspirational determine behind the movie Sound of Freedom has been accused of sexually harassing seven ladies throughout abroad missions and making the most of a Mormon elder.
Tim Ballard, who based the anti-sex trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R) a decade in the past, abruptly resigned in June
According to a report by Vice News, Ballard, who was portrayed by Jim Cavaziel in Sound of Freedom, shockingly resigned from his place in June after O.U.R initiated an investigation into the troubling claims of sexual misconduct. Report suggests, Ballard allegedly pressured ladies to behave as his “wife” on undercover missions designed to rescue victims of intercourse trafficking. He is accused of insisting that they share a mattress or bathe with him throughout these missions, purportedly to deceive traffickers.
What’s much more distressing is that Ballard, a former Department of Homeland Security official, stands accused of sending an specific picture of himself in underwear to 1 lady and inquiring about her willingness to go to excessive lengths to save lots of trafficked kids.
While Ballard’s abrupt departure from O.U.R was reported publicly three months in the past, neither he nor the group had supplied any rationalization on the time. To date, Ballard has not publicly addressed the intense allegations of sexual harassment.
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In response to the accusations reported by Vice, O.U.R launched an announcement reiterating its dedication to combatting sexual abuse and declaring a zero-tolerance coverage for sexual harassment or discrimination throughout the group. They commissioned an impartial regulation agency to completely examine the allegations whereas additionally engaged on enhancing the group’s governance and operational protocols.
‘Tim Ballard resigned from O.U.R. on June 22, 2023. He has permanently separated from O.U.R.’ the assertion learn.
The allegations are corroborated with a letter despatched to OUR places of work, “Several weeks ago, an OUR employee who accompanied Tim on an undercover operation filed a sexual harassment complaint against him with OUR’s HR department,” the letter, which was despatched this summer time to donors to anti-trafficking causes, reads. “This resulted in an extensive internal investigation into Tim and his individual operational tactics and led to more women speaking up as part of the investigation process.”
After the Vice report went public Ballard responded by giving a speech to a small crowd in Boston by which he mentioned, “It’s not true, nothing you hear is true.”
Before these allegations turned public, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which Ballard is a member, issued an announcement accusing him of exploiting his relationship with Mormon elder M. Russell Ballard for private and monetary acquire. Although the church didn’t present particular particulars, they unequivocally condemned Ballard’s actions as “morally unacceptable.”
In response to the church’s condemnation, Ballard vehemently denied exploiting his relationship with the church elder, describing President Ballard as being like a grandfather to him. He vehemently refuted any claims of utilizing the elder’s identify for monetary acquire and questioned the authenticity of the church’s assertion, regardless of it being launched by means of an official spokesperson.
Source: www.hindustantimes.com
