Current:Home > MarketsPolice are investigating a sexual assault allegation against a Utah man who inspired a hit movie-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Police are investigating a sexual assault allegation against a Utah man who inspired a hit movie
View Date:2024-12-23 21:26:44
Police in Utah are looking into a woman’s claim that the founder of an anti-child-trafficking organization made famous by a movie last summer sexually assaulted her, the first known criminal investigation amid assault claims made against him by six women in two lawsuits.
The woman made the sexual assault claim against Tim Ballard to police in Lindon on Nov. 1, according to a police report The Salt Lake Tribune obtained through a records request.
Detectives arranged a meeting the next day, according to the report, which did not detail anything further about the investigation.
“All I can say is that there was an interview. The case is ongoing. It’s an active investigation,” Lindon Police Chief Mike Brower confirmed with the newspaper Wednesday.
Ballard, founder of Operation Underground Railroad, already faces a lawsuit filed by five women who say he sexually manipulated, abused and harassed them on overseas trips designed to lure and catch child sex traffickers.
It wasn’t clear whether the woman who contacted police is one of the five from that lawsuit, a woman who alleges in a separate lawsuit filed with her husband that Ballard sexually assaulted her, or someone else.
The Salt Lake Tribune did not identify the woman, citing its policy not to identify sexual assault victims without their permission. It was not clear what may have happened in Lindon to involve police in the town of about 10,000 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City.
The Lindon police report listed Suzette Rasmussen, an attorney for the seven plaintiffs in the two lawsuits, as a contact for the woman. Rasmussen confirmed the report’s contents but declined to comment further.
The criminal investigation comes as Utah’s legislative auditor, at the request of state lawmakers, begins to look into Attorney General Sean Reyes’ office including whether Reyes’ long friendship with Ballard led to any state help for Operation Underground Railroad or “Sound of Freedom,” a film based on the organization’s activities that was a hit with conservative moviegoers last summer.
Ballard has denied the sexual assault allegations and did so again in a statement by Ken Krogue, president of The SPEAR Fund, an anti-trafficking organization where Ballard is now listed as a senior adviser.
Ballard has not been contacted by law enforcement or otherwise informed of the woman’s report to police, according to Krogue.
“The fact that a purported criminal complaint has been leaked to the media is even further evidence of the true intent behind this charade,” Krogue said in the statement. “It is designed to stir up a media frenzy, to harm the reputation of Mr. Ballard, and to impede his and others’ efforts to fight sex trafficking industry.”
Ballard resigned from Operation Underground Railroad amid the sexual assault allegations.
The complaints against Ballard center on a “couple’s ruse” he allegedly engaged in with women associated with Operation Underground Railroad who posed as his wife to fool child sex traffickers into thinking he was a legitimate client, according to the lawsuit filed by the five women in Utah state court.
Ballard’s work against child sex trafficking got him invited to the White House under President Donald Trump. Ballard previously was a special adviser to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and was appointed to a White House anti-human-trafficking board in 2019.
veryGood! (369)
Related
- Democrat George Whitesides wins election to US House, beating incumbent Mike Garcia
- Who was St. Brigid and why is she inspiring many 1,500 years after her death?
- An ancient Egyptian temple in New York inspires a Lebanese American musician
- Greyhound stations were once a big part of America. Now, many of them are being shut
- AP Top 25: Oregon remains No. 1 as Big Ten grabs 4 of top 5 spots; Georgia, Miami out of top 10
- WWE PPV schedule 2024: When, where every premium live event will be this year
- Iraq and US begin formal talks to end coalition mission formed to fight the Islamic State group
- Nitrogen gas execution was textbook and will be used again, Alabama attorney general says
- Is Veterans Day a federal holiday? Here's what to know for November 11
- Iraq and US begin formal talks to end coalition mission formed to fight the Islamic State group
Ranking
- NFL playoff picture Week 10: Lions stay out in front of loaded NFC field
- Vince McMahon resigns from WWE after allegations of sexual assault
- Russia marks 80 years since breaking the Nazi siege of Leningrad
- 93 Americans died after cosmetic surgery in Dominican Republic over 14-year period, CDC says
- Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin to kick off fundraising effort for Ohio women’s suffrage monument
- GOP legislatures in some states seek ways to undermine voters’ ability to determine abortion rights
- Australian Open men's singles final: How to watch Daniil Medvedev vs. Jannik Sinner
- GOP legislatures in some states seek ways to undermine voters’ ability to determine abortion rights
Recommendation
-
Mean Girls’ Lacey Chabert Details “Full Circle” Reunion With Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Seyfried
-
Former NBA All-Star DeMarcus 'Boogie' Cousins spotted making bubble tea for fans in Taiwan
-
South Carolina deputy fatally shoots man after disturbance call
-
12 most creative Taylor Swift signs seen at NFL games
-
New York eyes reviving congestion pricing toll before Trump takes office
-
Hollywood has been giving out climate change-focused awards for 33 years. Who knew?
-
Republicans see an opportunity with Black voters, prompting mobilization in Biden campaign
-
As a boy he survived the Holocaust — then fell in love with the daughter of a Nazi soldier. They've been married 69 years.