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Operation Underground Railroad

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Operation Underground Railroad
AbbreviationO.U.R.
Named afterUnderground Railroad
FoundedOctober 2013
FounderTim Ballard
Founded atSalt Lake City, Utah
TypeNon-governmental organization, non-profit organization
46-3614979
FocusHumanitarian
Area served
Global
Key people
Tammy Lee (current CEO)
Tim Ballard (former CEO)
Websiteourrescue.org
An Operation Underground Railroad information tent in 2018

Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) is a nonprofit United States–based anti-sex trafficking organization founded in 2013 by Tim Ballard.[1] The organization has been criticized for its conduct during sting operations and has been accused of exaggerating claims regarding its work.[1][2] There have been no actual verified rescues performed by the group, and the group's claims of rescues have misled donors and the public about what the group does.[3] The group claims to have conducted multiple sting operations, some outside the United States, and donated technological and monetary resources to law-enforcement agencies that combat sex trafficking.[1][4]

The group's founder, Tim Ballard, was the subject of an internal investigation in 2023 after multiple former employees accused him of "sexual harassment, spiritual manipulation, grooming, and sexual misconduct." Ballard resigned as CEO in June, 2023, as a result of the investigation. Weeks later, the organization was named in two separate lawsuits, in which the plaintiffs accused Tim Ballard of sexual assault, grooming, and coercing women into sexual acts during O.U.R.'s sting operations.

In a December 2023 statement posted on its website, the organization said an independent law firm reached the conclusion that Ballard had "engaged in unprofessional behavior that violated OUR's policies and values."[5]

Founding

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Founder Tim Ballard in 2018

Operation Underground Railroad was founded in 2013 by Tim Ballard.[1][6]

Ballard has said that, prior to founding O.U.R., he served 12 years as a U.S. Special Agent for the Department of Homeland Security, on the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) and the U.S. Child Sex Tourism Jump Team. According to The Atlantic, "spokespeople for the CIA and DHS said they could not confirm Ballard's employment record without his written permission, which he did not provide."[7] According to Ballard, he was frustrated with the lack of strategies employed to rescue kidnapped and trafficked children in underdeveloped nations, and the inability to prosecute offenders in non-U.S. related cases.[8][9] Subsequently, he left government service in October 2013 to found Operation Underground Railroad.[8][9][10]

Controversies

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Justice Department warning

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In February 2016, the Justice Department advised members of ICAC against "being involved in, assisting or supporting operations with" the O.U.R.; the commander of ICAC's Washington branch stated in an email to state and local police that O.U.R. was not affiliated with ICAC and that "no task-force group should partner with O.U.R. or provide O.U.R. with 'any resources, equipment, personnel, training.'"[11]

Connections to QAnon

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A September 2020 Vice News article described O.U.R. as "QAnon-adjacent" and embracing followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, which other trafficking charities had distanced themselves from.[12] Ballard told The New York Times, "Some of these theories have allowed people to open their eyes. So now it's our job to flood the space with real information so the facts can be shared."[13][14][12]

Misleading self-promotion

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In a December 2020 article, Vice News said that Tim Ballard embellished O.U.R.'s role in the rescue of a trafficked woman, stating that they did not find "outright falsehoods but a pattern of image-burnishing and mythology-building, a series of exaggerations that are, in the aggregate, quite misleading".[1] A 2021 follow-up article further criticized O.U.R.'s practices, including using inexperienced donors and celebrities as part of its jump team, a lack of meaningful surveillance or identification of targets, failing to validate whether the people they intended to rescue were in fact actual trafficking victims, and conflating consensual sex work with sex trafficking.[15] O.U.R.'s CEO Ballard reportedly consulted a psychic for intelligence on some missions.[15][16]

A 2021 article in Slate criticized an armed 2014 raid conducted by O.U.R. in the Dominican Republic, which was filmed live by a camera crew to use in a proposed reality TV show, saying that it was likely to have traumatized the trafficked children.[2] The children rescued in the raid were released a few weeks later, without having received the three months of rehabilitative care that was hoped to be provided.[17] Anne Gallagher, an expert on the international law on human trafficking,[18] wrote in 2015 that O.U.R. had an "alarming lack of understanding about how sophisticated criminal trafficking networks must be approached and dismantled" and called the work of O.U.R "arrogant, unethical and illegal".[2][18]

In June 2022, Vice reported that O.U.R. falsely announced on its Twitter and Facebook accounts as well as on Ballard's Instagram account that O.U.R. had "partnered" with American Airlines and that the airline would show a video about O.U.R.'s work on all domestic flights that month. American Airlines said that they had never had a partnership or affiliation with O.U.R. or ever shown any of their videos, and that they were "taking appropriate action to have these posts removed".[19] O.U.R released a statement that the apparent mix up was due to their advertising agency informing them of the deal with American Airlines, which was not finalized yet.[20]

Sexual misconduct allegations

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In the summer of 2023, Ballard stepped away from the organization after an internal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations made against him by multiple employees.[21][22][23][24][25][26] On June 22, 2023, Ballard resigned from the organization, although the reasons were not made public until September.[27]

On September 28, several former employees and former contractors released a statement through attorney Suzette Rasmussen affirming the allegations, stating that they were "subjected to sexual harassment, spiritual manipulation, grooming, and sexual misconduct."[25] That same morning, O.U.R. released a statement confirming that they had launched an investigation into the allegations when they were first made, and that at the conclusion of that investigation, Ballard resigned.[25]

On October 11, 2023, a married couple filed a lawsuit against O.U.R. and Ballard, accusing Ballard of sexual assault and grooming. In a statement in the lawsuit, the husband alleged that Ballard wanted his wife to help O.U.R., despite her having "no training in any sort of undercover work." The lawsuit went on to state that Ballard began abusing the "couples ruse", in which Ballard had women pose undercover as his wife or girlfriend to fool traffickers on purported rescue missions, and used it as a tool for sexual grooming.[28]

Leadership change

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After Ballard was forced out as CEO, O.U.R. began a search for new leadership.[29][30] During the search, Matt Osborne, the President and COO, led the organization.[21] On February 26, 2024, Tammy Lee, a corporate executive with experience at Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, and the University of Minnesota Foundation, took over as the new CEO.[30][31] Lee also served on the White House Interagency Task Force to Combat Trafficking in Persons.[31]

Financials

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O.U.R reported $6.9 million in revenues to the IRS in 2016, $22.3 million in 2019.[32] According to Ministry Watch and ProPublica, the organization took in more than $45 million in 2020, but spent about $13.5 million on its work of allegedly rescuing sex trafficking victims, giving it $33.9 million in profit;[33][34] in 2021, it was $42 million, while spending $31 million; and in 2022, O.U.R. took in more than $27 million in donations, down from a peak of almost $46 million in 2020, and spent close to $32 million on program services.[33] As of December 2022, Operation Underground Railroad had more than $60 million in assets.[33]

In 2021, CEO Tim Ballard was paid $355,000 in salary and compensation. In 2022, he was paid $546,548.[35]

Operations

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As of 2021, O.U.R. had offices in Cedar City, Utah, and Anaheim, California.[32]

International operations

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In 2014, O.U.R. participated in a sting operation in Cartagena, Colombia.[36][9] In April 2022, O.U.R. members attended an anti-trafficking summit in Cartagena, Colombia.[37]

In 2022, O.U.R. also provided investigative and undercover support in the arrests of pro-pedophilia activists Nelson Maatman, who fled to Mexico, and Marthijn Uittenbogaard and his partner, who both fled to Ecuador.[38][39]

Law enforcement support

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Between 2015 and 2018, O.U.R. donated more than $170,000 to Washington State Patrol's "Net Nanny" sting program. The money was used for "additional detectives, hotels, food and overtime."[11] Sergeant Carlos Rodriguez, the initiator of the sting program arranged positive media coverage for O.U.R.,[11] solicited donations for them,[40] and, upon his retirement in 2019, was employed by O.U.R. as their domestic coordinator.[11]

O.U.R. bought over 50 dogs trained to detect electronic storage devices from Jordan Detection K9 and donated them to police departments in several U.S. states and Thailand.[41][42]

Aftercare

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O.U.R. says it runs a non-profit aftercare program,[43] providing medical and psychological services, education, and vocational opportunities to survivors.[44] In January 2022, O.U.R. stated that in 2021 it provided aftercare in 30 countries.[45] In February 2020, O.U.R. paid for an adopted Wisconsin woman to visit her biological parents after she discovered that she had been stolen from them as a baby and trafficked through orphanage fraud. After using the DNA test to trace her heritage back to India and Israel, the woman found her ethnic minority Roma family that lived in Romania and had since moved to Italy.[46]

According to Foreign Policy, in 2014, "after OUR's first operation in the Dominican Republic, a local organization called the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI when abbreviated in Spanish) quickly discovered it didn't have the capacity to handle the 26 girls rescued. They were released in less than a week."[10]

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  • In 2016, The Abolitionists, a documentary produced by Gerald Molen, featured the first operations undertaken by Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad.[47]
  • Another documentary from director Nick Nanton, Operation Toussaint,[48] was produced in 2018, which featured an operation in Haiti that had the support of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and former U.S. congresswoman Mia Love of Utah.[49] Deseret News movie critic Josh Terry described Operation Toussaint as "an engrossing and expert production" but also said it "feels more like a promotional film than a strictly traditional documentary."[50][51]
  • The documentary Triple Take (2020) was filmed about sting operations in Colombia.[52]
  • A feature film, Sound of Freedom, starring Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, was announced in 2018,[53][54] and released in theaters in 2023.[55]

Publicity and celebrity endorsements

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In 2015, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes joined Ballard in a sting operation in Colombia.[56]

Corbin Kaufusi, Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, and Tony Robbins have helped raise funds for O.U.R.[57][58] In July 2021, O.U.R. partnered with a Ft. Myers, Florida, Harley-Davidson dealership in organizing a "freedom ride to raise awareness about child sex trafficking."[59] In 2018, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin went to Haiti "for a first-hand experience" with O.U.R., which was filmed for ESPN.[60]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Merlan, Anna (December 10, 2020). "A Famed Anti-Sex Trafficking Group Has a Problem With the Truth". Vice News. Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Conley, Meg (May 11, 2021). "Called by God". Slate. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  3. ^ "Investigative reports question whether ex-Operation Underground Railroad CEO misled donors". Deseret News. September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  4. ^ Hartman, Taylor (October 22, 2021). "Claims of Utah group's involvement in child exploitation investigations under scrutiny". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  5. ^ Beal-Cvetko, Bridger. "Operation Underground Railroad announces new leadership after Tim Ballard ouster". www.ksl.com. Deseret Digital Media. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  6. ^ Hanson, Kurt. "Operation Underground Railroad: Saves lives in ways most can't". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  7. ^ Tiffany, Kaitlin (December 9, 2021). "The Great (Fake) Child-Sex-Trafficking Epidemic". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Byrne Reilly, Richard (April 26, 2014). "Tech startup Operation Underground Railroad is saving kids from human traffickers". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c Burleigh, Nina (December 14, 2015). "Inside The Fight Against Child Sex Trafficking". Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "The New Abolitionists". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on May 16, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  11. ^ a b c d Winerip, Michael (September 28, 2021). "Convicted of Sex Crimes, but With No Victims". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  12. ^ a b "WWE Referee, Wrestler-Turned-Mayor Fundraise For QAnon-Adjacent Charity". www.vice.com. September 29, 2020. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  13. ^ Roose, Kevin (August 12, 2020). "QAnon Followers Are Hijacking the #SaveTheChildren Movement". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  14. ^ "Donald Trump Is Gone, But QAnon's Sex Trafficking Conspiracies Are Here To Stay". BuzzFeed News. April 23, 2021. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Inside a Massive Anti-Trafficking Charity's Blundering Overseas Missions". Vice News. March 8, 2021. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  16. ^ Murray, Conor. "'Sound Of Freedom' Inspiration Tim Ballard And Film Producer Face Allegations Of Sexual Impropriety". Forbes. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  17. ^ Stackpole, Thomas (July 22, 2015). "The New Abolitionists". Foreign Policy. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Jackman, Tom (September 23, 2016). "Hunting for sex-traffickers abroad — by posing as johns". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  19. ^ Merlan, Anna (June 10, 2022). "Operation Underground Railroad Touts Non-Existent Partnership With American Airlines". Vice News. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  20. ^ Moore, Damion (June 11, 2022). "American Airlines issues swift rebuke of Operation Underground Railroad's bogus "partnership" claim with the airline". American Crime Journal |. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Merlan, Anna; Marchman, Tim (July 13, 2023). "Tim Ballard Has 'Stepped Away' From Operation Underground Railroad, Org Says". Vice. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  22. ^ Merlan, Anna; Marchman, Tim (July 18, 2023). "Tim Ballard Left Operation Underground Railroad After Investigation Into Claims Made by Employees". Vice. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  23. ^ "Tim Ballard, Inspiration Behind 'Sound of Freedom,' Quietly Leaves Anti-Trafficking Group". Rolling Stone. July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  24. ^ Scribner, Herb (July 13, 2023). "The man at the center of 'Sound of Freedom' abruptly leaves group he founded". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  25. ^ a b c Tomco, Brigham (September 28, 2023). "Attorney for former OUR employees says they 'affirm' allegations of sexual misconduct against Tim Ballard". Deseret News. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  26. ^ Merlan, Anna (September 18, 2023). "Tim Ballard's Departure From Operation Underground Railroad Followed Sexual Misconduct Investigation". VICE. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  27. ^ Siemaszko, Corky. "'Sound of Freedom' inspiration Tim Ballard resigned from child rescue group after misconduct reports". NBC News.
  28. ^ Beal-Cvetko, Bridger; Aerts, Lindsay (October 11, 2023). "2nd lawsuit filed against Operation Underground Railroad founder Tim Ballard". www.ksl.com. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  29. ^ "Tim Ballard, subject of 'Sound of Freedom' movie, has 'stepped away' from trafficking org, reports say". FOX8 WGHP. July 13, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  30. ^ a b Jennings, Aubree (February 20, 2024). "Operation Underground Railroad appoints new CEO, plans to expand". ABC4 Utah.
  31. ^ a b "Operation Underground Railroad Appoints Tammy Lee as Chief Executive Officer". www.businesswire.com. February 20, 2024.
  32. ^ a b Adam Herbets, Nate Carlisle (October 8, 2020). "Anti-human trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad under criminal investigation by Utah prosecutor". Fox 13 Salt Lake City. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  33. ^ a b c "Operation Underground Railroad - MinistryWatch". db.ministrywatch.com.
  34. ^ "Why Operation Underground Railroad Was Once Under Investigation".
  35. ^ Corky Siemaszko (September 19, 2023). "'Sound of Freedom' inspiration Tim Ballard resigned from child rescue group after misconduct reports". NBC. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  36. ^ "Rescuing Children From Colombia's Sex Trafficking Trade". ABC News. October 22, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  37. ^ "With US agents, they seek to dismantle sexual exploitation networks". EL HERALDO (in Spanish). April 6, 2022. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  38. ^ "Gevluchte Nederlandse pedofielen opgepakt in Ecuador". Telegraaf.nl. June 24, 2022. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  39. ^ "Electronic-sniffing dog helps in pedophilia arrest in Mexico". AP NEWS. June 15, 2022. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  40. ^ Sokol, Chad (July 11, 2016). "Thirteen arrested in sting targeting child rapists in Spokane County". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  41. ^ "Electronic Detection Deployed Dogs". Jordan Detection K9. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  42. ^ Armstrong, Kiah (January 19, 2022). "Woods Cross Police now have a K-9 trained to sniff out child sexual assault material". Channel 4. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  43. ^ "Abuse Relief Corps merges with O. U. R. to become Operation Underground Railroad Ghana". www.ghanaweb.com. March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  44. ^ Toone, Trent (June 14, 2019). "Operation Underground Railroad aftercare director gives training on how to spot a trafficker". Deseret News. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  45. ^ "The Journal of Nonprofit Innovation" (PDF). January 1, 2022. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  46. ^ Ritschel, Chelsea (February 27, 2020). "American woman reunited with family 25 years after she was trafficked as an infant". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  47. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 1, 2015). "'Abolitionists' Documentary Series About Rescuing Kids From Sex Slavery Shopped". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  48. ^ Blair, Rebecca (December 6, 2019). "Documentary Showcase on Scientology Network Draws Back Curtain on World of Child Sex Trafficking". World Religion News. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  49. ^ Armstrong, Jamie (June 2, 2017). "LDS Congresswoman, Operation Underground Railroad Founder Meet with President of Haiti to Address Human Trafficking". LDS Living. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  50. ^ Terry, Josh (July 27, 2018). "Movie review: Gripping 'Operation Toussaint' shows Tim Ballard's real-life battle against sex trafficking". Deseret News. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  51. ^ Terry, Josh (July 26, 2018). "Movie review: Gripping 'Operation Toussaint' shows Tim Ballard's real-life battle against sex trafficking". Deseret News.
  52. ^ Briccetti, Peter (July 30, 2020). "Operation Triple Take Fails to Address Systemic Issues with Child Sex-Trafficking". Whistleblower Network News.
  53. ^ Bond, Paul (September 6, 2016). "Child Sex Trafficking Explored in New Doc 'Abolitionists' (Exclusive Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  54. ^ Bond, Paul (June 15, 2018). "Blockchain Platform TaTaTu to Co-Finance 'Sound of Freedom'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  55. ^ Bramesco, Charles (July 6, 2023). "Sound of Freedom: the QAnon-adjacent thriller seducing America". The Guardian. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  56. ^ Ben Winslow (January 15, 2015). "VIDEO: Utah Attorney General goes undercover in child sex trafficking sting". Fox 13 Salt Lake City. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  57. ^ Ireland, Kyle (February 4, 2021). "Niners Lineman Corbin Kaufusi Plays Fortnite With Ninja For Operation Underground Railroad". KSLsports.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  58. ^ Genovese, Daniella (March 6, 2020). "Tony Robbins raises $18M for charity with 60th birthday bash". Fox Business. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  59. ^ Guerrero, Andrea (July 24, 2021). "Operation Underground Railroad ride set to begin Saturday for human trafficking awareness". WINK-TV. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  60. ^ Kozora, Alex (September 21, 2019). "Mike Tomlin Talks Traveling To Haiti To Fight Human Trafficking". Steelers Depot. Retrieved April 23, 2023.

Further reading

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