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Most Americans are familiar with Tim Ballard as the former DHS agent who went on to found the anti-human trafficking non-profit known as Operation Underground Railroad (OUR).

Ballard was also the subject of this year's hit film, Sound of Freedom. Though in recent months, more information about him has begun to raise eyebrows and engender questions.

Around the time Sound of Freedom hit theaters, Ballard abruptly left OUR. Then, last month, multiple women came forward, alleging the OUR founder sexually harassed them during overseas sting ops.

Earlier this week, these women also filed a lawsuit against Ballard and others, alleging sexual assault, battery, and additional forms of abuse.

What to know about the lawsuit against Tim Ballard

Five women who say they worked with Ballard on sting ops to rescue trafficked children bring forward serious claims.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are Ballard, OUR, and other organizations linked to both entities:

• The Spear Fund
• Rockwell Group Inc.
• Liberty and Light
• Slave Stealers LLC
• Children Need Families Foundation
• Deacon Inc.

The remaining defendants include individuals reportedly on the OUR board or otherwise associated with the non-profit:

• Janet Russon
• Craig Anderson
• Julian Ann Blake
• Wes Mortenson
• Ben Pack
• Mark Reynolds
• Stephan Fairbanks
• DOES 1 through 100

The plaintiffs are five women who've so far only identified themselves with the following initials: WW, DS, HDT, MK, and DM.

https://twitter.com/LindsayOnAir/status/1711509050935156812

Each of the women alleges Ballard employed the controversial "couples ruse" (a tactic designed to keep undercover operators from having sexual contact with trafficking victims they're trying to rescue) as a method of abuse.

Ballard reportedly told the five plaintiffs they needed to practice various sexual acts with him before and during rescue ops.

Apparently, the OUR founder maintained that ample practice would ensure he and the women posing as his wife/girlfriend during different ops had the necessary "chemistry" to fool traffickers.

https://twitter.com/LindsayOnAir/status/1711509054210896369

The women suing Ballard also maintain that when they brought these concerns to OUR, board members and other employees did not act to protect them. Instead, the plaintiffs say OUR eventually arranged for Ballard to quietly leave the company, while still serving as its face in the media.

The women believe OUR wanted to benefit from Sound of Freedom's release, a goal which may have been sabotaged, had the company publicly and fully disavowed Ballard.

Direct testimonies from the plaintiffs

The lawsuit in question includes very in-depth, multi-page, specific accounts from each plaintiff accusing Ballard of sexual abuse.

Some of the acts the OUR founder stands accused of are as follows:

• Groping the women, kissing intimate parts of their bodies, all under the guise of necessary "training" for undercover ops
• Pressuring women to shower with him and sleep in the same bed as him
• Using OUR donor money on lap dances, strip club visits (with his adult son in tow), and alcohol
• Failing to intervene during a dangerous op where one woman was groped by a female trafficker and feared she'd be raped
• Propositioning marriage to women in the event that his wife should pass away

https://twitter.com/LindsayOnAir/status/1711509057096618483

Denial from Ballard

As of Tuesday evening, The Spear Fund issued a public statement, asserting Ballard's innocence and denying all of the aforementioned allegations.

https://twitter.com/LindsayOnAir/status/1711605425588912228