was a Mormon anti-sex trafficking activist; claimed to be friends with LDS apostle Russell Ballard (no relation); accused in 2023 of sexual misconduct by at least eight women and a couple; in June 2024, one civil case was dismissed; in July 2024, a lawsuit said his DNA was found on a victim’s skirt

Case report

Update July 8, 2024: According to FOX reporter Adam Herbets, court docs show that a victim has said detectives confirmed to her that semen found on her skirt was a 100 percent DNA match to Tim Ballard.

UPDATE June 2024: One civil case has been dismissed.

UPDATE 9 Dec 2023: Tim Ballard is currently being sued in four separate Utah civil cases, and is currently under criminal investigation in Utah for sexual wrongdoing. Civil case numbers:

  • 230907617 – filed 2023-10-09
  • 230907663 – filed 2023-10-10
  • 230908862 – filed 2023-11-20
  • 230908977 – filed 2023-11-27 – defendants: Tim Ballard, OUR, Sean Reyes

Tim Ballard allegedly was friends for a time with Mormon apostle M. Russell Ballard (the two are not related); as per a September 2023 VICE News article, the two are no longer friends.

Thanks to your donations, FLOODLIT has obtained court records in all of the above civil cases.

UPDATE 16 Nov 2023: Ballard is now under criminal investigation for sexual assault, per a Salt Lake Tribune report.

UPDATE 5 Nov 2023: We’ve included a link to the latest amended complaint in the Sources section.

UPDATE 12 October 2023: We’ve included the full text of two lawsuits at the bottom of this case details page, and we are working on providing a more comprehensive timeline.

BREAKING – 11 October 2023:

BREAKING – 10 October 2023: Ballard denies the allegations made against him in yesterday’s civil suit, per Lindsay Aerts on X/Twitter.

Statement from the attorney for The Spear Fund:

“The Spear Fund did not exist during the time of the alleged conduct and had nothing to do with it. Mr. Ballard vehemently denies the allegations brought by these unnamed women.

“He looks forward to vindicating his name in the courts where evidence, and not unsubstantiated accusations in the media, decides the outcome.”

FLOODLIT.org is aware that Ballard has not been convicted, and is presumed innocent of allegations made against him at this time.

Tim Ballard was accused in 2023 of sexual misconduct by at least 7 women, according to VICE News.

18 September 2023: VICE News article described allegations by at least seven women that Tim Ballard engaged in sexual misconduct while part of Operation Underground Railroad.

Tim Ballard Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

In a lawsuit filed by five women against Ballard on in October 2023 in Utah, Ballard was accused of sexual misconduct and misuse of donors’ funds.3

Case facts

Case videos

    • Video title: Packer OUR Report 31—Sex Allegations
    • Video description: When Tim Ballard was forced out as president and CEO of Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) there was no announcement. His ouster was not made public until VICE News broke the story, months after Ballard left OUR. But even then the grounds for his removal remained secret. It was only disclosed some employees had complained about something to OUR’s directors. Ballard’s removal became known just as the movie about one of his daring rescues—Sound of Freedom— was breaking U.S. box office records. It’s now in theaters worldwide. This report finally reveals the complaint employees took to the board: Alleged sexual misconduct. While it’s a fact those allegations were made against Ballard, it remains far from proven whether they are true or false.

Case information sources

  1. Mormon Church Denounces Tim Ballard’s “Morally Unacceptable” Activities
    view source details | 15 Sep 2023 | VICE News
  2. Tim Ballard’s Departure From Operation Underground Railroad Followed Sexual Misconduct Investigation
    view source details | 18 Sep 2023 | VICE News
  3. Lawsuit against Tim Ballard [by 5 women]
    view source details | 9 Oct 2023 | Scribd
  4. 2nd lawsuit against Tim Ballard [by a couple]
    view source details | 11 Oct 2023 | Scribd
  5. First Amended Complaint
    view source details | 3 Nov 2023 | Third Judicial District Court, Salt Lake County, Utah
  6. Tim Ballard faces new allegations involving Latter-day Saint leader, Utah A.G Sean Reyes
    view source details | 3 Nov 2023 | KUTV
  7. Tim Ballard is under criminal investigation after a woman reported her sexual assault allegation to police
    view source details | 16 Nov 2023 | Salt Lake Tribune
  8. Judge dismisses injured Marine's lawsuit against Tim Ballard, OUR
    view source details | 28 Jun 2024 | FOX 13 Salt Lake City
  9. Adam Herbets post about DNA on victim skirt
    view source details | 8 Jul 2024 | Adam Herbets on X
  10. Utah Crime Lab found Tim Ballard's sperm on his assistant's skirt, plaintiffs say
    view source details | 8 Jul 2024 | FOX 13 (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Case information source details

Browse the Mormon Sexual Abuse Database

FLOODLIT.org has a free public database of hundreds of reports about people who committed or allegedly committed sex crimes, including sexual abuse, while they were active Mormon church members. You can browse the entire database in all sorts of ways, including by LDS church position, number of victims, places where crimes took place, or criminal/civil case result.

View the Mormon Sexual Abuse Map

International map of locations where active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints perpetrated or allegedly perpetrated sexual abuse or other sex crimes, or where LDS leaders failed or allegedly failed to help abuse survivors.

 

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