Tim Ballard, the self-styled rescuer of sex-trafficked children and inspiration for the Christian thriller, Sound of Freedom, has been hit with a lawsuit alleging that he sexually assaulted five women.
As reported in The Washington Post:
In a lawsuit filed Monday in Utah, the women alleged that Ballard would "manipulate" them and coerce them into sexual acts as part of his trafficking rescue missions via Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), the nonprofit he founded.
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Ballard would insist that he and his female counterpart had "physical chemistry" to better sell the ruse, flying them across the country to "practice" their sexual chemistry through "tantric yoga, couples massages with escorts, and lap dancing," according to the suit.
The lawsuit also alleges that Ballard "engaged in a ploy where he would tell the women that if they were offered alcohol, which is forbidden by the Mormon church, that she should take the drink and then open mouth, kiss him and spit the alcohol in his mouth, and then he would spit it out when the traffickers weren't looking."
Ballard encouraged the women to share the same bed and shower with him on his missions, and eventually began coercing sex acts from them, the suit claims. These acts would take place in private accommodations, according the lawsuit, because Ballard would claim he and his partner "had to maintain the appearance of a romantic relationship at all times in case suspicious traffickers might be surveilling them."
Ballard is also alleged to have told the women that engaging in sex play with him would improve their own marriages, while also advising that they not tell their husbands about these acts, lest it compromise their mission.
The QAnon/Maga crowd, who has elevated Ballard to demigod status, is unlikely to stop admiring him. Even after he'd been forced out of the organization he founded because of allegations that he had been accused of sexual misconduct by 7 women his followers continued to lavish him with praise on his Xitter account.
"The dark will always try to blot out the light of those doing Gods (sic) work but the dark looses (sic). Stay strong and stay the course. Prays (sic) coming your way," xitted one.
"Doing good ain't got no end. Drive on brother. Godspeed," xitted another.
"Thank you Mr. Ballard for all you to (sic) save the children. The deep state and coruption (sic) are doing all they can to stop the work you and your team are doing. We're talking about people in high places that would love for you to go away," xitted another.
Given the bizarro nature of the GOP, this lawsuit just might be what Ballard needs to win a seat on the Senate.
Sound of Freedom is starting to sound a lot more like Sound of Trafficking. Last month, Paul Hutchinson (not Ballard), executive producer of the film, was accused of groping an underage trafficking victim's breasts during a sting operation in Mexico,