Testing 123 testing 123. This is radio free Mormon on the air broadcasting behind enemy lines tonight's episode operation underground railroad child sex abuse allegations.

Well, now it is Wednesday morning. It is September 20, 2023. It is 714 AM my time. And I'm looking at the church newsroom website to see if they have at last at long last.

At way too long last release some kind of a statement regarding the Tim Ballard situation and I see nothing there. No, it's the same as it was yesterday when I reported it this time.

The latest news releases from yesterday and it's regarding church leaders inaugurating Shane Reese as the 14th president of BYU.

So that's what's dominating the news releases at the newsroom of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

There's a couple of things to talk about today. The first is that Tim Ballard has now responded to the allegations made in the vice news article about seven women who were employees of him claiming sexual misconduct against Tim Ballard while they were on their missions together.

And they basically all line up along the same way is my understanding is these allegations and their only allegations at this point.

Is that Tim would have women go with him on missions to pose as his wife and then ask them to do things that a husband and a wife would do like showering together or sleeping in the same bed all in order to fool the sex traffickers into thinking that they were really married.

Mary, those are the general gist of the allegations. Tim Ballard has now come out with a denial, a formal denial of those allegations. And this came out yesterday on September 19, 2023. I am on the website of let's see.

Well, I'm not sure that's probably an advertisement there, but the title is Sound of Freedom subject Tim Ballard denies vice news claims about sexual misconduct. He says they are baseless accusations. This is written by John F. Trent.

And it's actually in the bounding into comics.com website. It wasn't an ad. This is actually the website.

So this is the article Tim Ballard, the founder of Operation Underground Railroad and the subject of the summer blockbuster hit Sound of Freedom vehemently denied sexual misconduct claims alleged by media outlet vice news.

He says, no, this is the article not only would vice news report these claims, but reporter Lynn Kenneth Packer shared an anonymous letter that claims quote an OUR employee who accompanied Tim on an undercover operation filed a sexual harassment complaint against him with OUR's human resources HR department.

This resulted in an intensive extensive excuse me in an extensive internal investigation into Tim and his individual operational tactics and led to more women speaking up as part of the investigation process.

Period end of quote from Lynn Packer synonymous letter. The letter continued quote it was ultimately revealed through disturbingly specific and parallel accounts that Tim has been deceitfully and extensively grooming and manipulating multiple women for the past two to three years with the ultimate intent of coercing them to participate in sexual acts with him under the premise of going wherever it takes and doing whatever it takes to save a child.

Okay, so that's the nature of the allegations, which Tim Ballard is going to be responding now and OUR spokesman, I'll say spokesperson responded to vice news claims against Ballard stating quote Tim Ballard resigned from OUR on June 22, 2023. Yes, permanently separated from OUR.

The spokesman continued OUR is dedicated to combating sex abuse and does not tolerate sexual harassment or discrimination by anyone in its organization. OUR retained an independent law firm to conduct a comprehensive investigation of all relevant allegations and OUR continues to assess and improve the governance of the organization and protocols for its operation.

And it goes on with a statement by the OUR spokesperson to preserve the integrity of its investigation and to protect the privacy of all persons involved. OUR will not make any further public comment at this time.

OUR is confident in its future as the leading organization committed to combating sex trafficking and saving children who having captured and sold into slavery. Okay, that's the end of the quote from the official OUR statement.

The article goes on Tim Ballard responded to the allegations in a statement through the spear fund quote as with all of the assaults on my character and integrity over many years, the latest tabloid driven sexual allegations are false period end of quote.

Okay, so that's his denial, not only does it denial the allegations about sexual conduct or harassment, he's basically saying all the assaults on his character and integrity over many years, they're all false as well.

He continued in a statement, they are baseless inventions designed to destroy me and the movement we have built to end the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable children.

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