‘You tell me how I’m the bad guy in that story’
By Joe Kovacs
Tim Ballard in Boston, Massachusetts in September 2023 (Video screenshot)
Tim Ballard, the former Department of Homeland Security agent whose real-life heroics rescuing trafficked children were glamorized in the smash film “Sound of Freedom” starring Jim Caviezel, is now speaking out in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct with numerous women.
“It’s not true, nothing you hear is true,” Ballard told supporters in Boston, who recorded his comments on video.
“This is breaking down my family like you can’t believe,” he continued, as his delivery varied from shouting at the cameras to welling up in tears.
His comments come in the wake of a report by VICE News, which indicated “Ballard’s exit from Operation Underground Railroad earlier this year followed an investigation into claims of sexual misconduct involving seven women, according to sources with direct knowledge of the organization.”
“Sources familiar with the situation said that the self-styled anti-slavery activist, who appears to be preparing for a Senate run, invited women to act as his ‘wife’ on undercover overseas missions ostensibly aimed at rescuing victims of sex trafficking. He would then allegedly coerce those women into sharing a bed or showering together, claiming that it was necessary to fool traffickers. Ballard, who was played by Jim Caviezel in the hit film Sound of Freedom, is said to have sent at least one woman a photo of himself in his underwear, festooned with fake tattoos, and to have asked another ‘how far she was willing to go,’ in the words of a source, to save children. These sources requested anonymity because they fear retaliation.”
“‘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 sent this summer 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.
“‘It was ultimately revealed through disturbingly specific and parallel accounts, that Tim has been deceitfully and extensively grooming and manipulating multiple women for the past few years with the ultimate intent of coercing them to participate in sexual acts with him, under the premise of going where it takes and doing ‘whatever it takes’ to save a child.'”
Jim Caviezel starring in ‘Sound of Freedom’ (Trailer video screenshot)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, of which Ballard is member, reportedly released a statement to FOX13 News and other media, calling Ballard’s behavior “morally unacceptable.”
But Ballard questioned the authenticity of that statement.