‘Sound Of Freedom’ Inspiration Tim Ballard And Film Producer Face Allegations Of Sexual Impropriety

Topline

Tim Ballard, the real-life inspiration for the controversial film Sound of Freedom, was reportedly investigated for sexual misconduct while leading anti-sex trafficking organization Operation Underground Railroad, and producer Paul Hutchinson reportedly felt the breasts of an underage sex trafficking victim, according to Vice.

Tim Ballard, a former government agent, is the real-life inspiration for ‘Sound of Freedom.’ (Photo … [+] by Alan Espinosa/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Ballard, the founder and former CEO of Operation Underground Railroad, reportedly resigned from the organization soon after an independent law firm investigated claims made by seven women (OUR declined to comment on the outcome of the investigation to Vice).

Sources close to OUR told Vice Ballard would encourage women to act as his wife on undercover rescue missions, urging them to share a bed and shower with him in order to fool traffickers.

The sources told Vice Ballard sent a picture in his underwear to at least one woman and asked another “how far she was willing to go” to save children from traffickers.

Ballard denied the allegations in a statement, calling them “baseless inventions designed to destroy me,” and maintained that sexual contact was forbidden on sex trafficking missions.

Hutchinson, an executive producer and investor for Sound of Freedom and anti-trafficking activist, allegedly touched the naked breasts of a girl who was believed to be 16 years old during a 2016 undercover mission in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, according to another Vice report.

Vice obtained transcripts of footage of the incident, written by investigator Bryan Purdy of the Davis County Attorney’s Office, which details Hutchinson lifting the girl’s shirt, touching her breasts and kissing her on the cheek, before she pushed his hands away and pulled her shirt down.

Hutchinson reportedly asked an OUR operative if he would “get in big trouble from the Mexican authority for touching a sixteen-year-old on film,” according to another transcript of footage.

When contacted by Vice, Hutchinson did not dispute he felt the victim’s breasts, but he did claim to have an affidavit from Mexican federal police identifying her as 18 years old, though he did not provide the document to Vice when asked.

Surprising Fact

Ballard and OUR operatives followed the guidance of Janet Russon, a psychic medium from Utah, on some missions, Vice reported Wednesday. In one mission in February 2016, Ballard and his team followed Russon’s visions to locate Gardy Mardy, a Haitian boy they believed to be held on the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Mardy was never found, and Dave Lopez, a former OUR official who oversaw its work in Haiti, reportedly told the FBI in October 2020 Russon’s visions were “the only form of intelligence they were using to locate Gardy.” Russon was reportedly “paid a monthly consultant fee of approximately $5,000 with an hourly/operational readings contract of approximately $1,560,” an investigator wrote in documents obtained by Vice.

Key Background

Sound of Freedom has faced a storm of controversy and politically charged division since its release on July 4. Championed by right wing pundits and conservative politicians, it has been fiercely criticized by the left for alleged ties to conspiracy theories. Jim Caviezel, who stars as Ballard, has reportedly spoken at multiple events hosted by QAnon—the conspiracy theory that Satan-worshipping global elites control the world and run a global child sex trafficking ring. Caviezel voiced support for the baseless “adrenochrome” theory, which posits child traffickers drain the blood of children to harvest a chemical they ingest to stay young. Ballard has also previously suggested support for the false conspiracy theory that retailer Wayfair was selling children online. The film’s distributor, Angel Studios, has denied the film is connected to conspiracy theories and maintains it is not about politics.

Tangent

Ballard said he is “very seriously considering” a Senate run to succeed Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who will not seek re-election.

Big Number

$183,234,204. That’s how much Sound of Freedom has grossed at the U.S. box office to date, making it the 10th highest-grossing film of the year. It has outgrossed films with much bigger budgets at the domestic box office, like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Elemental.