Specialists who truly work with trafficking victims have been vocally criticizing Sound of Freedom for weeks now.
The sleeper hit on the field workplace offers a really Hollywood model of saving youngsters from traffickers. You realize, a lone badass has to do all of it himself, charging in with weapons blazing prefer it’s a nasty ’80s film. However based on of us who’ve been acquainted with the exploits of the IRL man the film is predicated on, it’s not a lot that Hollywood took the true factor and twisted it. It’s that he has been extremely suspect for years.
That man is Tim Ballard, and he parted methods together with his personal Operation Underground Railroad earlier this 12 months, proper after the film about it grew to become a smash success. One may assume it was so he may give attention to his upcoming run for Senate. However based on a bombshell Vice exposé on Monday, the true purpose he quietly exited the OUR is due to an investigation into sexual misconduct accusations!
Associated: Sound Of Freedom Investor Arrested For Kidnapping After Years Of ‘Sugar Child’ Events
Sure, the outlet found seven ladies made claims towards Ballard, who’s performed within the movie by the very in another way controversial Jim Caviezel. And the claims are actually surprising. In keeping with these ladies, Ballard used the prospect of saving youngsters from traffickers to trick them into having intercourse with him! Sure, actually! How?
They are saying he would recruit ladies to pose as his “spouse” on undercover missions to different nations the place he was supposedly surveilling trafficking operations. To throw them off the scent, he wished to seem like a pair touring on trip. However the factor is, as soon as he had these ladies alone, they declare, he coerced them into sexual conditions, like sharing a mattress or having a shower collectively. He informed them it was to assist idiot the traffickers. He even reportedly requested one lady “how far she was keen to go” to save lots of youngsters.
Um, did we are saying the Hollywood model was unbelievable?!
It’s believed there are greater than seven ladies, however that’s what number of OUR workers got here ahead for that exact investigation. A former volunteer — who was not a part of the investigation — informed Vice he tried this act on her, too. And one other supply referred to a second volunteer. However finally we’ll most likely by no means know what number of ladies he used his faux child-saving routine to sleep with.
If that is true, it actually seems like the entire thing wasn’t only a grift to make himself look virtuous and heroic (and promote the movie rights) — it was additionally to carry ladies to a different nation and trick them into intercourse! If solely there have been a hot-button time period for that sort of habits…
The investigation was confirmed by OUR, who launched this assertion to Vice:
“Tim Ballard resigned from O.U.R. on June 22, 2023. He has completely separated from O.U.R.
O.U.R. is devoted to combatting sexual abuse, and doesn’t tolerate sexual harassment or discrimination by anybody in its group.
O.U.R. retained an impartial legislation agency to conduct a complete investigation of all related allegations, and O.U.R. continues to evaluate and enhance the governance of the group and protocols for its operations.
To protect the integrity of its investigation and to guard the privateness of all individuals concerned, O.U.R. won’t make any additional public remark right now.
O.U.R. is assured in its future because the main group dedicated to combatting intercourse trafficking and saving youngsters who’ve been captured and bought into slavery.”
This report follows an nameless letter which had been circulating in anti-trafficking charities in Utah for months. That letter, confirmed by Vice‘s supply, learn:
“A number of weeks in the past, an OUR worker who accompanied Tim on an undercover operation filed a sexual harassment criticism towards him with OUR’s HR division. This resulted in an intensive inside investigation into Tim and his particular person operational techniques and led to extra ladies talking up as a part of the investigation course of.
It was finally revealed by way of disturbingly particular and parallel accounts, that Tim has been deceitfully and extensively grooming and manipulating a number of ladies for the previous few years with the final word intent of coercing them to take part in sexual acts with him, beneath the premise of going the place it takes and doing ‘no matter it takes’ to save lots of a baby.”
“Grooming and manipulating,” The precise sort of grooming, not simply, you understand, being homosexual. The writer of the letter stays nameless to today.
Maybe this one that initially leaked the information was one of many victims. Perhaps they grew involved about Ballard’s fame rising due to the movie. Perhaps they have been — rightfully — fearful guys would see the film and signal as much as assist with Ballard’s falsified picture of their minds. That has been occurring, sadly. They’re even preventing with the consultants as a result of they noticed ONE MOVIE ONE TIME.
Ballard himself has now responded to the allegations, saying in a press release obtained by Individuals:
“As with all the assaults on my character and integrity over a few years, the newest tabloid-driven sexual allegations are false. They’re baseless innovations designed to destroy me and the motion we’ve constructed to finish the trafficking and exploitation of susceptible youngsters.”
Proper. It’s all a giant conspiracy, and all the ladies are mendacity as a result of they suppose trafficking is nice, they usually’re attempting to cease the one man who can truly repair it. Give us a break.
[Image via FayesVision/WENN/Angel Studios/YouTube.]
