For added articles overlaying OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad
Unique Press Launch from the sufferer’s attorneys Alan Mortensen and Suzette Rasmussen
Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah, October 22, 2024 — As we speak, Celeste Borys, Mary Corridor, Sashleigha Hightower, Krista Kacey, Kira Lynch, and Bree Righter filed a federal lawsuit towards Timothy Ballard, founding father of Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), and different concerned events, together with Matthew Cooper and Michael Porenta. The lawsuit alleges that Ballard and OUR engaged in human trafficking and exploitation of girls beneath the guise of humanitarian anti-trafficking operations. It additionally highlights how OUR and Ballard hid the cash from donors to perform this.
The grievance, filed in the USA District Court docket for the District of Utah, asserts that Ballard and OUR violated the Trafficking Victims Safety Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) by manipulating and coercing ladies into collaborating in sexually exploitative conditions and in offering free labor beneath false pretenses. Central to the allegations is the misleading “{Couples} Ruse” tactic, which was introduced as an undercover technique to “rescue” trafficking victims however as an alternative led to the abuse of the plaintiffs.
How the TVPRA Lawsuit Differs from Earlier Instances
This lawsuit is distinct from earlier authorized actions introduced towards Ballard and OUR in that it’s filed beneath the Trafficking Victims Safety Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), a federal statute particularly geared toward combatting human trafficking. In contrast to earlier fits, which had been introduced in state courts, the TVPRA mandates that circumstances be heard in federal court docket as a result of nature of the trafficking violations and the involvement of interstate or worldwide actions. This federal framework permits the plaintiffs to pursue damages from those that profited from the trafficking, even when they didn’t immediately take part within the exploitation. Plaintiffs intend to amend their lawsuit to incorporate such “beneficiary” contributors within the COUPLES RUSE as mentioned individuals and firms are revealed in discovery.
“This lawsuit exposes the reality behind the façade of Tim Ballard and OUR. As an alternative of rescuing ladies and youngsters from trafficking, these defendants used their positions of belief to use and abuse and visitors ladies,” mentioned lead attorneys Suzette Rasmussen and Alan Mortensen.
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