Tim Ballard

[smac97]

https://kjzz.com/news/local/tim-ballard-operation-underground-railroad-anti-trafficking-church-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints-lds-mormon-statement-vice-news-sound-of-freedom

Quote

Ballard's full statement is below:

Rescuing kids and fighting child trafficking is an ugly and dark business, especially when—as the result of my work for more than 20 years—we continue to expose members of the powerful, well-funded child trafficking cartels.

Evil pedophiles will stop at nothing, and they have allies in government, in the media, in big corporations, and even in public institutions. They continue to lie and attempt to destroy my good name and defame my characterand they will never stop.

I want everyone to know that I and our vast army of supporters will likewise never stop. We will keep fighting for the vulnerable all over the globe, and we know that the truth will always prevail.

I am a faithful Member in good standing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I believe in Jesus Christ, the Holy Scriptures, and I believe in our faith with my whole heart. That will never change.

It has been alleged that an LDS church spokesperson issued a statement about me through a tabloid that is often hostile to people of faith. My church has not publicly verified the statement’s authenticity. We are also highly suspicious about the timing of such a statement given its close proximity to Mitt Romney’s announcement that he is retiring, my own public comments about my prayers about future plans, and the fact that the LDS church does not engage in political activity.

In any event, nothing will change my core beliefs. If someone within the church did release this statement, I am absolutely confident that the right people will step in and ensure that proper due process is followed as the rules of our church dictate.

I, my family, and the Spear Fund team will confidently move forward and focus on our mission of saving children from the horrors of sex slavery, and remaining fierce defenders of freedom. We invite anyone who shares this passion to join us.

"Evil pedophiles will stop at nothing."  He'll need to do a lot more than throw out bombs like this.  

"My church has not publicly verified the statement’s authenticity."  I think it has.

Thanks,

-Smac

 

[Calm]

Quote

The second raid, the attempt to find Gardy at a child labor camp on the border of DR and Haiti, is the disastrous raid based on a psychic’s insight that is documented in the TV show and movie The Abolitionists, as well as a Vice article about the operation. Ed Smart, father of Elizabeth Smart, was actually on the ground during this incident (this was during a failed attempt at a merger between the Elizabeth Smart foundation and OUR that did not come to pass because of Ed Smart’s frustration with the prevention/rehabilitation wing of OUR); Ed Smart provided a significant amount of information about this operation during later interviews. OUR had gone to the DR/Haiti border convinced that they would find a child labor camp that held Gardy, because they had received this tip from Utah psychic and OUR affiliate employee Janet Russon. 

Smart said that the failed mission – in which no child labor camp was located and the group nearly got into a violent altercation with local village leaders because they believed the camera crew was there to scout out natural resources – cost a “horrendous” amount of money. In the footage, you can see that they’ve chartered at least one helicopter. Smart also said that when the mission failed, the group was asked to sign nondisclosure agreements and was told not to talk about what happened. The entire operation seems to have been more the product of mysticism than police intelligence – team members gathered to pray for success at the Mormon temple and sites where M. Russell Ballard (high ranking clergy in the LDS church) had visited, and of course, the tip that the labor camp existed and that Gardy was there came from a psychic. During the course of this mission, no trafficked children were rescued. OUR says that the operation “advanced the search for Gardy,” but it’s not clear what that means – or what it could mean in the context of a search that turned up zero leads.

I am wondering where the info from Ed Smart came from and how much in that paragraph is actually from him.

Praying at sites “where M. Russell Ballard…had visited”…

I really hope something was miscommunicated there because that sounds weird.

[Calm]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/allegations-against-tim-ballard-inspiration-behind-sound-of-freedom-explain-rebuke-by-lds-church/ar-AA1gUs5a?

Quote

The Vice article explained, perhaps, Ballard’s speech to an audience on an American Covenant Tour in Boston this weekend in which, while claiming he had never traded on Elder Ballard’s name, he proceeded to trade on Elder Ballard’s name….

He began his remarks by saying that Elder Ballard has been “like a grandfather” to him. Over the course of his comments he also managed to slip in the facts that Elder Ballard had blessed and set apart his son for an LDS mission and that Elder Ballard had enthusiastically attended the very same heritage tour they were all currently taking.

He emphasized that Elder Ballard sought him out. “He asked me to take him on this tour! President M. Russell Ballard asked me to take him on this tour. … It wasn’t my idea.”

This was in the same section of the talk where he also said, “I have never used Elder Ballard’s name, ever! I have never traded on his name, or asked for anything. I’ve never had any business dealings with him. He’s like a grandfather to me.”

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Calm

[smac97]

The guys at "Ward Radio" (Cordon Ellis, the CWIC media guy, Jacob Hansen, Nathaniel Givens, Brad Witbeck) are speculating in a livestream:

1. Someone in the COB may have manipulated Pres. Ballard (a staff member) into dissing Tim Ballard over political reasons/purposes.

2. Mitt Romney may have played a role because he doesn't want Tim to run for his (Romney's) Senate seat.

Meh.

Thanks,

-Smac

 

[Calm]

20 minutes ago, smac97 said:

The guys at "Ward Radio" (Cordon Ellis, the CWIC media guy, Jacob Hansen, Nathaniel Givens, Brad Witbeck) are speculating in a livestream:

1. Someone in the COB may have manipulated Pres. Ballard (a staff member) into dissing Tim Ballard over political reasons/purposes.

2. Mitt Romney may have played a role because he doesn't want Tim to run for his (Romney's) Senate seat.

Meh.

Thanks,

-Smac

 

Anything about the allegations against him?

[smac97]

2 minutes ago, Calm said:

Anything about the allegations against him?

Yes.  Lots.  Mostly, Kwaku, Jacob (the "A Thoughtful Faith" guy) and Cardon Ellis are pretty upset.  They think the reference to "morally unacceptable behavior" is a dog whistle reference to sexual misconduct, and that this should not have come from the Church through a statement to VICE.  They also think the overall statement and treatment was problematic (they still love the Church, tho!).

Nathaniel Givens was more circumspect, and I think he overall had the most reasoned perspective.

The CWIC Media guy (Greg Matsen) was also troubled, but also more middle-of-the-road than Kwaku/Jacob/Cardon.

I anticipated Cardon and Kwaku to be a bit loose-in-the-mouth, but Jacob was a bit surprising.  I think this story is troubling to a lot of stalwarts.

Thanks,

-Smac  

[The Nehor]

1 hour ago, smac97 said:

https://kjzz.com/news/local/tim-ballard-operation-underground-railroad-anti-trafficking-church-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints-lds-mormon-statement-vice-news-sound-of-freedom

"Evil pedophiles will stop at nothing."  He'll need to do a lot more than throw out bombs like this.  

"My church has not publicly verified the statement’s authenticity."  I think it has.

Yep, going with the pedophiles in government and media are trying to silence me thing.

So after saying he does not promote Q-Anon conspiracy theories he is now claiming the Q-Anon conspiracy is after him.

That mask came off quickly.

[Calm]

I really hope this isn’t true. I would like to think he has done quite a bit of good, that there are lots of kids safer because of their work even if profiting off of it personally and treating women volunteers inappropriately and even if they were sloppy and could have done much better  

 

[halconero]

A bit of a side-tangent, but I remember Tim Ballard first coming up years ago when I worked for a non-profit in Calgary focused on resettling refugees and integrating immigrants. An admittedly small part of my job was anti-trafficking, usually focused on labour trafficking, but at least one or two incidents of sexual exploitation. I remember people learning about this and thinking I was some sort of superstar who should connect with Ballard.

The reality was 80% paperwork and 20% going over to another agency and or government office for a meeting to discuss a specific case. Never did we have to bust down a door. Most of the time it was a matter of issuing the trafficked person a revised visa, taking a child into protective custody, and occasionally getting them some cash or support from a food bank so they could extricate themselves from a bad situation.

In most cases with trafficking, nobody was nabbed off the street by people in hoods or masks. I'm sure that happens, but it is rare. It is usually someone with a close relationship to the victim exploiting them - a boyfriend, parent, uncle, cousin, or whatever. They usually take advantage of some vulnerability - age, debt, unfamiliarity with a location (e.g., just moving to a new city), and distance from friends to pressure them into activities they wouldn't chose for themselves, whether that's working for little-to-no pay, sex work, or whatever. Most pimps are in relationships with the prostitutes they manage, for example. And while unrelated, a lot of contraception programs in Africa failed to stem HIV/AIDS not because Africans didn't know how to use a condom, but because women often entered into relationships with HIV+ men who were able to provide for their short-term needs, and didn't *want* to use a condom.

When I would explain this to members they almost seemed disappointed half the time, sometimes to the point of dismissing my examples of trafficking as being somehow less serious. Or that Tim Ballard and OUR was somehow doing the "true" work of anti-trafficking. That somehow it should be a guns blazing adventure than the mechanisms of bureaucracy, social safety nets (state-based or faith-based), and healthy relationships.

My untested hunch is that this comes from two sources. The Tim Ballard style of activity rings true with our sense of conspiracy within the Church, based in stories like the Gadianton robbers and Cold War-era remarks. We like to think of vast criminal networks than unrelated localized networks of mostly friends/families. The second source is our cultural penchant with quick fixes. This is another story for another time, but many Saints are really good at the one-off emergency humanitarian activities, but less-so when it comes to long-term commitments that require careful planning, forethought, and organization. I have some examples of this, but I have to go put the baby down and will come back to it later.

[The Nehor]

33 minutes ago, halconero said:

A bit of a side-tangent, but I remember Tim Ballard first coming up years ago when I worked for a non-profit in Calgary focused on resettling refugees and integrating immigrants. An admittedly small part of my job was anti-trafficking, usually focused on labour trafficking, but at least one or two incidents of sexual exploitation. I remember people learning about this and thinking I was some sort of superstar who should connect with Ballard.

The reality was 80% paperwork and 20% going over to another agency and or government office for a meeting to discuss a specific case. Never did we have to bust down a door. Most of the time it was a matter of issuing the trafficked person a revised visa, taking a child into protective custody, and occasionally getting them some cash or support from a food bank so they could extricate themselves from a bad situation.

In most cases with trafficking, nobody was nabbed off the street by people in hoods or masks. I'm sure that happens, but it is rare. It is usually someone with a close relationship to the victim exploiting them - a boyfriend, parent, uncle, cousin, or whatever. They usually take advantage of some vulnerability - age, debt, unfamiliarity with a location (e.g., just moving to a new city), and distance from friends to pressure them into activities they wouldn't chose for themselves, whether that's working for little-to-no pay, sex work, or whatever. Most pimps are in relationships with the prostitutes they manage, for example. And while unrelated, a lot of contraception programs in Africa failed to stem HIV/AIDS not because Africans didn't know how to use a condom, but because women often entered into relationships with HIV+ men who were able to provide for their short-term needs, and didn't *want* to use a condom.

When I would explain this to members they almost seemed disappointed half the time, sometimes to the point of dismissing my examples of trafficking as being somehow less serious. Or that Tim Ballard and OUR was somehow doing the "true" work of anti-trafficking. That somehow it should be a guns blazing adventure than the mechanisms of bureaucracy, social safety nets (state-based or faith-based), and healthy relationships.

My untested hunch is that this comes from two sources. The Tim Ballard style of activity rings true with our sense of conspiracy within the Church, based in stories like the Gadianton robbers and Cold War-era remarks. We like to think of vast criminal networks than unrelated localized networks of mostly friends/families. The second source is our cultural penchant with quick fixes. This is another story for another time, but many Saints are really good at the one-off emergency humanitarian activities, but less-so when it comes to long-term commitments that require careful planning, forethought, and organization. I have some examples of this, but I have to go put the baby down and will come back to it later.

This. All of this. Thank you.

[CA Steve]

Apologies if this has already been linked, but Ben Parks has weighed in.

 

What’s Happening Between the Sound of Freedom Guy and the Mormon Church Is a Sign of Something Bigger by Ben Parks

 

From the article:

Quote

Not that this criticism bothers Ballard. In his carefully cultivated narrative, Ballard is the strong man who is standing up to waves of misinformation as a heroic truth-teller. In the past few years he’s become a rising star in the right-wing mediaverse, meeting with Donald Trump in the White House and testifying before Congress, as well as a global celebrity through Sound of Freedom.

Ballard’s brand of revisionist truth-telling has been especially popular within the LDS community. He wrote a series of books, marketed by the Latter-day Saints publisher Deseret Books, on America’s founding figures—the pilgrims, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln—that utterly dismiss existing scholarship. Washington, Ballard argues, was visited by the Angel Moroni, the same divine figure who delivered the gold plates to Joseph Smith; Lincoln, conversely, was inspired to write the Emancipation Proclamation after reading the Book of Mormon.

Scholars have frequently pointed out the shoddy historical work in these books, but no bother: Ballard and his supporters have a well-developed script to dismiss secular threats to God’s truth.

Just wow.

I was blissfully unaware of Ballard until a few days ago.

What a nut job.

If Park's article is accurate, regardless of the validity of the sexual harassment accusations, this guy is dangerous.

[Tacenda]

9 hours ago, smac97 said:

Yes.  Lots.  Mostly, Kwaku, Jacob (the "A Thoughtful Faith" guy) and Cardon Ellis are pretty upset.  They think the reference to "morally unacceptable behavior" is a dog whistle reference to sexual misconduct, and that this should not have come from the Church through a statement to VICE.  They also think the overall statement and treatment was problematic (they still love the Church, tho!).

Nathaniel Givens was more circumspect, and I think he overall had the most reasoned perspective.

The CWIC Media guy (Greg Matsen) was also troubled, but also more middle-of-the-road than Kwaku/Jacob/Cardon.

I anticipated Cardon and Kwaku to be a bit loose-in-the-mouth, but Jacob was a bit surprising.  I think this story is troubling to a lot of stalwarts.

Thanks,

-Smac  

I liked Jacob's response about looking for the truth no matter what side it lands on. Not his exact quote but the gist I think.

[Stargazer]

On 9/16/2023 at 2:09 AM, SeekingUnderstanding said:

People on this board disagree with Dan’s personal views on social issues, and so comment on his testimony. 
 

Other people on this board take issue with Ballards priestcraft and comment on his testimony. 

Good question.

Dan's personal views on social (or political) issues should not be closely connected with his testimony, unless those views square off against important principles or church leaders. For example, Dan is utterly rabid in his anti-Trump sentiment, but this should not be a source of commentary about his testimony. His public statements concerning theological issues, however, seem to lead inevitably to doubts about his testimony. And should this not be commented upon? I think that a publicly expressed doubt about the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a huge red flag on the testimony issue. Given that it is a central Christian belief, perhaps THE central Christian belief. 

As for Ballard, his reliance upon psychics is a huge red flag about his testimony. I don't know why we shouldn't comment upon this. But perhaps it is okay to believe in psychics, in respect of testimony.

[Stargazer]

On 9/16/2023 at 10:42 PM, LoudmouthMormon said:

Sorry, I guess I didn't speak clearly enough.   

I'm happy that his movie prompted so many to learn a thing or two about the real aspects of real child sex trafficking.  (Again, here's a primer for anyone interested.) 

I literally mean it.  The movie itself is only a sensationalized fictional representation of a tiny minority of child sex trafficking, some truth mixed with hollywood.  But as people took to the public square to talk about the movie, many people did some research (like my link), and learned stuff they would have otherwise not learned.  So, the movie-did-indeed-prompt-people-to-learn.  I think it's a net benefit.  

Does that make more sense?

(I've pushed this link for a decade, and will continue to push it until it goes dead.  It's a very good basic introduction into what real, endemic, found everywhere, child sex trafficking.)

Good point. The Book of Mormon video has possibly led people to the church who wouldn't have been led, otherwise.

[Calm]

Latest vice article—not Ballard

https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3mq5w/sound-of-freedom-producer-underage-trafficking-victim

”Paul Hutchinson—an executive producer of Sound of Freedom, the film focused on the heavily fictionalized exploits of anti-trafficking activist Tim Ballard—touched the naked breasts of an apparently underage trafficking victim during a 2016 undercover operation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.”

”Footage of the incident and its aftermath was captured by videographers working with Operation Underground Railroad, or OUR, the private anti-trafficking group Ballard founded. An investigator with the Davis County Attorney’s Office obtained the footage and wrote detailed descriptions of it as part of a criminal investigation into Ballard and OUR carried out with the FBI. That investigation was closed this year without any charges being brought. The descriptions were included among documents obtained by VICE News through a public-records request, and make clear that the trafficking victim appeared to be—and was believed at the time by Hutchinson and OUR operatives to be—about 16 years old. They also assert that OUR believed the footage had been destroyed.”

”A description of one of the videos, written by an investigator, shows Hutchinson expressing concerns over whether he could be prosecuted by Mexican authorities over the incident. He was speaking to Matt Osborne, an OUR operative, who dismissed his worries while making clear he didn’t think the video should be shown to the U.S. government. Osborne is currently the president and chief operating officer of OUR, as he has been since Ballard resigned from the organization earlier this year following an internal investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.”

”There is no suggestion in the files that Hutchinson’s behavior was aimed at anything but identifying and exposing traffickers, but federal agents with extensive experience working undercover overseas told VICE News that Hutchinson’s methods ran contrary to best practice. For years, experts in the anti-trafficking field have raised concernsabout OUR’s methods potentially creating demand for trafficking victims, due to scenarios precisely like this one. Rather than finding minors who were already being trafficked, requesting younger victims while undercover could cause traffickers to try and find people to fill that request. In other words, such a request would not rescue trafficking victims; it could potentially create them.”

My only question was it a very poorly thought out role play act for the traffickers or done after the girl was rescued.  It appears to be the first….probably a response to a trafficker’s query if he likes her.
 

If the first, the best that can be said is OUR’s use of unprofessionals in their stings as part of their promotional style is idiotic and dangerous.   If the last, Hutchinson has no possible excuse.  The only way he might get off with little harm if on the video he is seen being pushed to ‘try the product’.

Well, there goes Matt Osborne’s reputation as a protector of vulnerable children though.  Thinking OUR is going to need another CEO

Pity people can’t take back their tickets or donations

Edited September 19, 2023 by Calm

[ttribe]

The hits just keep coming with the Hutchinson article, now.

Additional statements: https://x.com/annamerlan/status/1704160037504262592?s=20

[ttribe]

https://x.com/annamerlan/status/1704160271332471026?s=20

[Calm]

Should have finished reading it

Quote

A female,” the description—which like the others in this story we are reproducing verbatim aside from minor redactions, complete with typographical and grammatical errors—reads, “gets to the bottom of the stairs and there is an adult male standing to her left side. The male is wearing a light-colored shirt with long sleeves and a necktie. The male uses both of his hands to lift the female’s shirt up to her shoulders exposing her naked breasts. While he continues to hold the female’s shirt up with both hands, another adult male approaches from directly in front of the female. This male (identified as Paul Hutchinson based on his own statements on a phone call to Matt Osborn.) is wearing a light-colored shirt with short sleeves. Paul approaches the female and lifts both of his hands and places them on each of the female’s naked breasts. The female uses her hand to push down Paul’s hands and pulls her shirt down. There is another female standing above them higher on the stairway wearing a dark colored skirt/shorts and a dark colored tube top shirt.

“Paul leans in and kisses the first female on the side of the cheek,” read the investigator’s notes. 

The adult male in the white shirt, according to the description, goes outside with Hutchinson and his team. “You want more touch, feel, oh no more touch,” he says. Another man says, “You like more 16” and that he can provide IDs. Hutchinson pays one of these men—which isn’t made clear in the description—money and says, “For showing ‘em to me right there.”

I get why someone new to undercover would react that way.  I don’t know if a professional could have avoided it.

The problem will most likely be they thought the video got scrubbed, they were intending to cover it up. 

[Tacenda]

27 minutes ago, Calm said:

Latest vice article—not Ballard

https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3mq5w/sound-of-freedom-producer-underage-trafficking-victim

”Paul Hutchinson—an executive producer of Sound of Freedom, the film focused on the heavily fictionalized exploits of anti-trafficking activist Tim Ballard—touched the naked breasts of an apparently underage trafficking victim during a 2016 undercover operation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.”

”Footage of the incident and its aftermath was captured by videographers working with Operation Underground Railroad, or OUR, the private anti-trafficking group Ballard founded. An investigator with the Davis County Attorney’s Office obtained the footage and wrote detailed descriptions of it as part of a criminal investigation into Ballard and OUR carried out with the FBI. That investigation was closed this year without any charges being brought. The descriptions were included among documents obtained by VICE News through a public-records request, and make clear that the trafficking victim appeared to be—and was believed at the time by Hutchinson and OUR operatives to be—about 16 years old. They also assert that OUR believed the footage had been destroyed.”

Pity people can’t take back their tickets or donations

It might have been mentioned, but I guess we are able to read all 10,000 pages of the investigation by Troy Rawlings in Davis County, at the end of this month. 

I don't get how Troy closed the case, maybe we'll find out. I do know Troy by our sons playing on a sports team together and he represented my brother in a court case years ago. But I didn't become chummy with him much. 

I'd love to be able to find out what happened, and a few years ago I did email him about the investigation when I found out he was doing one but got no response.

I just wish these reports didn't come from Vice, since so many believe it's against the church or wants to take the church down. Not sure how true. 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Tacenda

[BlueDreams]

22 hours ago, smac97 said:

Credible, but "difficult to prove."  Yes, I could see that.  And "the victims don't want to press charges" is another plausible explanation.

I'm just wondering if these are sufficient.  The prosecutor purportedly has 10,000 pages of documents about the supposed involvement of a "psychic" in OUR operations, but zero information or allegations re: Tim Ballard transporting women overseas and coercing them into showering with him and sleeping in the same bed as him?  The omission seems . . . odd.

Thanks,

-Smac

 

Not necessarily. So few victims of sexual assault or harassment end up filing/seeking legal repercussions. I haven't had a single one that I've worked with through their trauma file charges so far. Not. One. The high-profile charges we have record of have several things in common that aren't common for lower end cases. Namely greater access to resources, larger load of cases, and often high profile support. Most people don't have that and the cost of having your actions and behaviors questioned when you're already in a fragile state usually keeps people away from doing so. 

I've had clients that I really wish could or would file. But I know that doing so in the state they were in would likely compound their symptoms of distress/ptsd for years. So most of this stays within tight and close circles. There's also still the problem that when it happens within larger organizations with high profile members like Ballard was there then becomes a third powerful party with stakes in what happens...most organizations don't want this sort of publicity. Especially ones that rely on public image to maintain cash flow and structure. If it turns out that your main figurehead working to save people from predators is also a predator....that's really going to kill your bottom line. And they are absolutely a for-profit entity if their numbers are any indication. 

 

So yeah, it's really not surprising to me that these allegations are difficult to get more than bare-minimum information on. Not to say that I think they're true or false....just that there's enough real-world scenarios that I've seen that I can't dismiss them all together.

 

With luv,

BD 

Edited September 19, 2023 by BlueDreams

[Calm]

3 minutes ago, ttribe said:

https://x.com/annamerlan/status/1704160271332471026?s=20

When the time is right sounds too familiar.  The time is never right for too many, it is a delay tactic. He should be specific about the cause of the delay. 
 

The coverup is the issue, imo. Makes him look guilty. 

[Calm]

Quote

One of the OUR operatives is heard saying, “Let’s get the hell out of here.” Hutchinson is heard saying, “Yeah, let’s get out of here, I’m down a grand.”

“For a thousand bucks you got your hands on some breasts,” says a male voice, to laughter.

“What was I going to do?” asks a second male voice, whose words are described as being interrupted repeatedly by laughter. “Okay, she’s 16, here, feel them, they’re nice. I’m like, ****, those are 16.”

“You think they’re under age, huh?” asks the first male voice.

“Oh yeah,” says a third male voice, “I would put money on that.” The men continue their discussion for a bit before the first male voice says, “Yeah, those girls were young, man.”

“I don’t know how wise it was to grab that girl’s boobs, though,” says the second male voice.

“You didn’t get that on video or anything, did you?” asks the first male voice.

It would appear that while they didn’t take it seriously, the other man…assuming here he is a professional there to ensure Hutchinson’s safety..thought there were other options.

I see this as more commentary on the quality of OUR’s methodology, they are more interested in protecting the ‘volunteers’ than the actual victims. 

 

Quote

“Uh, is it clear that they pulled it, pulled your hand there?” asks Osborne. (In the copy of the description obtained by VICE News, this entire passage is highlighted and the word “LIE” is written next to it, with a margin note reading “PAUL PUTS BOTH HANDS ON VOLUNTARILY.” Those appear to be an investigator’s notes; the Davis County Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.)

I could see this as not a lie, but him rewriting the disturbing memory so he feels better about it. But it will add to the evidence there was intent to cover it up. He could also be outright lying out of fear.
 

Legally it might matter if the girl was 18 even if he thought she was 16, but for the public, a lot won’t care. He was willing to touch a 16 year’s old breast whether or not he did.  

Edited September 19, 2023 by Calm

[smac97]

https://www.deseret.com/2023/9/18/23880008/tim-ballard-responds-to-latter-day-saint-church-statement-operation-underground-railroad

Quote

Tim Ballard, founder and former CEO of Operation Underground Railroad, an anti-child sex trafficking organization, issued a statement Monday affirming his commitment to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The statement was released through The SPEAR Fund, a nonprofit aiming to collaborate with various organizations “to end human trafficking in our time.” Ballard has served as a “senior advisor” to the organization since leaving OUR earlier this year.

“I am a faithful Member in good standing in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I believe in Jesus Christ, the Holy Scriptures, and I believe in our faith with my whole heart. That will never change,” the document reads.

I hope Tim can maintain this.  Truly.  It's a rare thing to see a member of the Church publicly "called out" by a senior leader of the Church.  The circumstances of this are all pretty weird, and I think the Church could have handled it better (I say this in a hindsight-is-20-20, armchair-quarterback kind of way).  But in the end, I hope Tim Ballard can continue in his faith and his covenants.  

Quote

Ballard’s statement comes after Vice reported Ballard had allegedly claimed his work and other projects were endorsed by President M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The two men share the same last name but are not related.

In response to the reports, first published by Vice, the church released a statement which reads, in part, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints never endorsed, supported or represented OUR, Tim Ballard or any projects associated with them” and clarified that “Once it became clear Tim Ballard had betrayed their friendship, through the unauthorized use of President Ballard’s name for Tim Ballard’s personal advantage and activity regarded as morally unacceptable, President Ballard withdrew his association.”

The Deseret News independently verified the legitimacy of the statement issued by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The full statement can be read here.

Tim is going to need to step away from the "rogue statement" narrative.

Quote

During a tour in Boston earlier this week, Tim Ballard responded to the church’s statement. “Never in my life, never, have I used his name to raise money, to make some business deal, it’s never happened.”

This is, to me, the most troubling part.  I think we've all seen this image (from this Vice article) :

Note the redactions (the white blocks obscuring text on the whiteboard, added, it seems, by VICE).  This article by "American Crime Journal" includes an unredacted image of the whiteboard:

Again, the resolution isn't great, but this is where Lynn Packer comes in, as he has "reconstructed" the text on the whiteboard. 

From the ACJ article:

Quote

What is “The Whiteboard Meeting”

After each individual signed Ballard’s Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), they assembled in the meeting room in Paul Hutchinson’s luxurious home.

On a whiteboard (also known as a dry-erase board), Tim Ballard presented the overall strategy of what he called his “master plan”. Each member’s role and how each of their respective organizations would funnel donor money into his for-profit business, Slave Stealer’s, LLC.

Tim Ballard believed that he could funnel and launder donor money through his non-profits into his for profit businesses, which he called “sizzle”. Both the non-profits and for-profits would then pay substantial tithes to the LDS Church- despite the fact that money from those funds had already been diverted to church coffers.

Lynn Packer reconstructed the diagram that Ballard drew:

 

What did the Whiteboard Show?

• Multiple Ballard controlled for-profit and non-profits entities.
• Several paths for donor money to flow directly from Tim Ballard’s non-profit entities into his main for-profit company, Slave Stealers, LLC.
• How OUR would bring more converts into the Mormon faith
• Deep involvement by acting president of the LDS church M. Russel Ballard (no relation)
• Operation Underground Railroad’s takeover of orphanage in Haiti, Foyer de Sion in an apparent attempt to monetize adoptions.

Ballard’s Slave Stealers, LLC, (for profit) and Three Partners

At the top of the diagram was Ballard’s for-profit business Slave Stealer’s, LLC, with three partners:

• Brian Norton
• Tim Ballard
• M. Russell Ballard (silent partner)

An outside non-profit owned by Paul Hutchinson; Child Liberation Foundation was envisioned to donate to multiple non-profit entities owned by Tim Ballard.

Child Liberation Foundation

• Brad Damon (CEO)
• Hada Vanessa (Executive)
• Kahea (advisor)

The Ballard Controlled Non-profits

• Operation Underground Railroad (sizzle)
• The Nazarene Fund (sizzle)
• Children Need Families (owned by Katherine Ballard- sizzle)
• Liberty and Light Equity Trust
• Mercury One (owned by Glenn Beck)
• Orphanage in Haiti

Ballard’s use of the word “sizzle” was taken to mean that the non-profits would attract donors by way of “dynamic humanitarian missions“- such as “rescuing child sex slaves”

The money would in up in Ballard’s own company http://www.timothyballard.com

It would make more money with Ballard media engagements, starting with the Sound of Freedom, speaking fees and upcoming books-

• Sound of Freedom (first film)
• Speaking engagements ($50 to $100k)
• Upcoming books (3 to 5 new books coming out)

Some of these funds would end up going to Slave Stealer’s, LLC,

Ballard’s Millions

The key bit:

Quote

At the top of the diagram was Ballard’s for-profit business Slave Stealer’s, LLC, with three partners:

Brian Norton
Tim Ballard
M. Russell Ballard (silent partner)

"M. Russell Ballard (silent partner)"

Did Tim Ballard actually write this?  If so, how does he square this with his statement "I used his {Pres. Ballard's} name to raise money, to make some business deal, it’s never happened"?

I think this is a really important question.

Quote

In Tim Ballard’s most recent statement released late Monday evening he claimed bad actors were attempting to “destroy (his) good name and defame (his) character” and expressed doubt that the Church’s statement was authentic, but commented “In any event, nothing will change my core beliefs. If someone within the church did release this statement, I am absolutely confident that the right people will step in and ensure that proper due process is followed as the rules of our church dictate.”

I am sure this will happen as well.

Quote

Hours before Tim Ballard’s response through The SPEAR Fund, Vice News reported “sources familiar with the situation” had come forward with allegations Ballard had, on multiple occasions, asked women to act as his “wife” during OUR missions, among other allegations. Ballard did not respond to these most recent allegations of misconduct related to his time with OUR.

Hmm.  Why is he not responding to this?  Allegations of sexual misconduct toward women is, in the eyes of many folks, far more objectionable than trading on Pres. Ballard's name.

Thanks,

-Smac

Edited September 21, 2023 by smac97

[Calm]

1 hour ago, smac97 said:

The key bit:

And let’s not forget that all over that whiteboard were $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

So not that much about the number of victims being saved…at least in that meeting.  What he was selling was an investment for future income.

A very bad look.

Also that all the money makers and nonprofit stuff is under Ballard’s name, timballard.com.  He is the brand, it is all about him.  Hard to kick out the guy when his name is on everything.

I can’t remember where I read it, but you see in several places the claim that Glenn Beck financed Ballard’s first or early missions so he could complete them.  The claim I saw was the actual investment made by Glenn Beck was for the TV raid and rescue reality series that Ballard was pushing from the beginning, iow it was a financial investment to make Beck money (that’s the claim, he could have been planning to donate any income he got that way to a charity) as well as Ballard, looking like he was focused on the money angle from his first effort, the search for Gardy Mardy.***  There was also a claim that they used a replica of the necklace that was given Ballard by a kid (back in the days of his Homeland Security days, not OUR) for a sales gimmick, but I can’t find that anywhere, unlike Liliana’s alleged valentine, so I am wondering if they assumed it was the kid’s necklace and not the OUR logo necklace/dog tags you can find on their site.

***I get you need money to fund good deeds, but how effective will an undercover operation be if faces are exposed.  Got to wonder how many traffickers went into hiding when contacted by ‘undercover’ Ballard because he was recognized, making it more difficult to save the kids.

There are quite a few raid and rescue operations out there, but as far as I know, Ballard is the only one that has his face globally available. 
 

I can’t confirm this**, though saw it repeated a few places and OUR saying they didn’t directly benefit from the Sound of Freedom movie makes me think it is true…OUR was supposedly given no money from the film profits or for use of their name, etc. There was the expectation of massive increase in donations that was likely realized, but that Ballard and the movie people didn’t contribute to the efforts they were extolling in the movie is weird.

**added:  confirmed it myself at the below link

Quote

We thank everyone who has seen this movie. While none of the proceeds from “Sound of Freedom” go to O.U.R., you can still make a difference.

I can understand for a variety of reasons why Ballard wouldn’t want to share profits with them, but the other producers, the movie studio to not to…it would have been a great PR move to add that reason for buying tickets to the “we must educate the world about this evil” promo they apparently attached to the end of the movie (telling viewers to buy tickets and give them to others to help spread the word).***

***the cynics are saying there should be nothing surprising about the show’s immediate popularity as it was the result of a brilliant PR move rather than a viral, audience inspired movement.  Would be interesting to see how many that first few days saw it with a freebie ticket.

Added:  a promo for the movie with a trailer on the OUR website with big donation button front and center.  Would they have to get permission from the movie’s owners to use the movie as a promo on their site?

https://ourrescue.org/sound-of-freedom

Edited September 19, 2023 by Calm

[Calm]

1 hour ago, smac97 said:

Why is he not responding to this?  Allegations of sexual misconduct toward women is, in the eyes of many folks, far more objectionable than trading on Pres. Ballard's name

Maybe he is afraid he denies it happened, that there will be someone among the women who will come forward to challenge him.  I can see the victims seeing the current situation as not needing their actual voices, he is being condemned for his abuse through someone speaking for them.  If he denies it and no one comes forward with documentation (did they get interviewed by the DA and would this be released?, seems unlikely), that could change with more in their community becoming vocal about how it is all lies.  This might drive some further underground, but might anger others into being willing to go public.

The Pres Ballard stuff having been released by the Church and linked to a highly respected and weak known individual can’t be brushed off with a “where is he, this alleged victim” tactic.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Calm