The former National Security agent, American activist, and writer was accused of abuse by several employees of his nonprofit organization.
In July, the box office was shaken by the release of big films such as Mission Impossible: Mortal Sentence - Part 1, Barbie, and, Oppenheimer. But there was another film that took over the box office for a few weeks, surpassing Tom Cruise's film.
We are talking about Sound of Freedom, the film released last July 4 in the United States and which premiered in Latin America at the end of August. The film is based on the figure of Tim Ballard, a former United States National Security Agent who abandons his job to dedicate his life to rescuing children who are victims of human trafficking in Latin America.
Since the release of Sound of Freedom, all kinds of controversies have arisen around the film. From the affiliations of the protagonist Jim Caviezel with QAnon, accusations that Disney shelved the project due to its strongly religious ties, and the alleged sabotage by cinemas of the screenings of the feature film.
A few weeks later it was reported that one of the film's producers was accused of child abuse. But now the accusations have fallen on Tim Ballard himself, the very protagonist of the story who earlier this year resigned from his position as executive director of Operation Underground Railroad, a non-profit organization against human s*x trafficking.
According to an investigation published on Monday by the Vice site, the activist resigned from the organization after receiving a series of accusations of abuse by several OUR employees.
Sources close to the organization revealed that Ballard invited several staff members to accompany him on covert missions outside the United States. They even detailed that Ballard forced several of these women to "share a bed or shower together, claiming it was necessary to deceive traffickers." He also revealed that on at least one occasion he sent a photo of himself in his underwear to a woman.
The accusation involves seven women whose identities remain anonymous because they are afraid of repercussions and retaliation against them. However, there are believed to be many more victims, including volunteers and contractors.
“OUR is dedicated to combating abuse and does not tolerate harassment or discrimination by anyone in its organization,” reads the statement published through The Guardian. “We hired an independent law firm to conduct a thorough investigation of all relevant allegations, and OUR continues to evaluate and improve the organization's governance and protocols for its operations," they indicated.
At this time, Ballard has not commented on these accusations, nor did he respond to Vice's request for comment.
