Tim Ballard

Timothy Ballard is the founder and former CEO of Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), an anti-sex trafficking organization. Ballard was removed as CEO and forced to leave O.U.R. in 2023 amid accusations of sexual misconduct by multiple employees. Shortly afterward, five women filed a lawsuit against Ballard, accusing him of coercing them into sexual acts during his sting operations. Another lawsuit was then filed against Ballard by a married couple, accusing him of sexual assault and grooming. Utah Governor Spencer Cox subsequently called for a criminal investigation into Ballard's actions.

In a September 2023 statement, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement condemning Ballard for "activity regarded as morally unacceptable." In a December 2023 statement posted on its website, O.U.R. said an independent law firm reached the conclusion that Ballard had "engaged in unprofessional behavior that violated OUR's policies and values."

The 2023 American Christian thriller film Sound of Freedom, starring Jim Caviezel, is a highly fictionalized account of Ballard's work.

Early life and education
Ballard grew up in California and graduated from La Cañada High School in 1994. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he served a two-year mission to Chile. Afterwards, he attended Brigham Young University (BYU) and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and political science. He then obtained a Master of Arts in international politics from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (now part of Middlebury College), graduating summa cum laude.

Operation Underground Railroad
Ballard founded the non-profit organization Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) in 2013. He has claimed, without evidence, that his organization has rescued thousands of trafficking victims. He was invited by Donald Trump to join a White House anti-trafficking advisory board.

On May 14, 2015, Ballard testified before the United States Congress House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Human Rights during which he recommended procedures and practices for rescuing children from trafficking rings. The hearing focused on partnerships between the U.S. government and non-governmental organizations that rescue trafficking victims. On March 6, 2019, Ballard testified before the US Senate Judiciary Committee about US-Mexico border security and its relation to child sex trafficking. As early as 2016, Ballard was criticized for broadcasting raids without regard for victim privacy.

Ballard was appointed to the White House Public-Private Partnership Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking in 2019. The Council was terminated as required by the enabling legislation on September 30, 2020.

In October 2020, the Attorney's Office of Davis County, Utah initiated an investigation into complaints that O.U.R. and Ballard had conducted illegal fundraising efforts. No charges were filed and the investigation was closed on March 28, 2023.

Ballard and supporters of O.U.R. have been accused of promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory as early as 2020. In July 2023, the month Sound of Freedom was released, Ballard stated that this claim is not true and is being used to discredit him and the film. In an interview with Jordan Peterson the same month, Ballard claimed, without evidence, to have recently raided a West African "baby factory", where children were sold for organ harvesting and Satanic ritual abuse, a claim that echoed a QAnon conspiracy theory.

In 2021, Ballard paid himself $355,000 in salary and compensation as CEO of O.U.R. In 2022, his salary had risen to $546,548.

Sexual misconduct allegations and resignation
Ballard was removed as CEO and forced to leave O.U.R. in 2023. At the time, Vice reported: "An anonymous letter sent to employees of and donors to the anti-trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad asserts that founder Tim Ballard left the organization recently after an internal investigation into claims made against him by multiple employees". Vice later reported that his departure had followed allegations of sexual misconduct. The contents of the anonymous letter were published in full on September 17; it alleged a pattern of grooming and manipulation of women affiliated with the organization.

In the same week that the allegations were made public, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publicly denounced Ballard, stating that he had used the name of church leader M. Russell Ballard (no relation) for personal gain, and called his conduct "morally unacceptable". The governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, called the sexual misconduct allegations "disturbing" and "unconscionable" if true. Ballard denied the accusations, saying that "they are baseless inventions designed to destroy me and the movement we have built to end the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable children."

On September 28, several former employees and former contractors released a statement through attorney Suzette Rasmussen affirming the allegations against Ballard, stating that they were "subjected to sexual harassment, spiritual manipulation, grooming, and sexual misconduct." That same morning, O.U.R. released a statement confirming that they had launched an investigation into the allegations when they were first made, and that at the conclusion of that investigation, Ballard resigned.

Following the allegations and denunciation, Ballard's books were removed from the website and stores of his publisher Shadow Mountain Publishing and its parent company Deseret Book, which is owned by the LDS Church. Previously, his books had been criticized by scholars for inaccurate content.

On October 9, 2023, a lawsuit was filed by five women who said they were coerced into sexual acts by Ballard during his sting operations.

On October 11, 2023, a married couple filed a lawsuit against O.U.R. and Ballard, accusing Ballard of sexual assault and grooming. In a statement in the lawsuit, the husband alleged that Ballard wanted his wife to help O.U.R., despite her having "no training in any sort of undercover work." The lawsuit went on to state that Ballard began abusing the "couples ruse", in which Ballard had women pose undercover as his wife or girlfriend to fool traffickers on purported rescue missions, and used it as a tool for sexual grooming.

On October 19, 2023, the governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, called for a criminal investigation into the allegations made against Ballard.

In January 2024 one of Ballard's accusers filed additional criminal complaints of sexual assault in four California jurisdictions.

Other work
Ballard was the former CEO of The Nazarene Fund, a Glenn Beck-backed Christian organization.

Media appearances
The 2016 documentary The Abolitionists, produced by Gerald Molen, featured the first operations undertaken by Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad. Another documentary from director Nick Nanton, Operation Toussaint, was produced in 2018 which featured an operation in Haiti that had the support of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and former US congresswoman Mia Love of Utah.

ESPN featured Ballard and Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin in a piece which highlighted the restavek issue near the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Tomlin would also write the foreword to Ballard's book Slave Stealers: True Accounts of Slave Rescues – Then and Now.

A feature film, Sound of Freedom, starring Jim Caviezel as Ballard, was announced in 2018 and released in theaters in 2023.

Personal life
Ballard and his wife Katherine met at Brigham Young University. As of 2015, their family resided in Utah and Ballard was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Friendships
Ballard is close friends with Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and a longtime close friend of political commentator Glenn Beck. In October 2023 Beck said the two would talk on the phone “all the time”.

Ballard was also a former friend of M. Russell Ballard, who was the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles within the LDS Church until his death in November 2023, a position he had held since January 2018. However, their friendship ended when M. Russell Ballard became aware of Tim Ballard's misconduct.