Utah DA Declines Charges Against Anti-Trafficking Activist Accused of Sexual Assault
The district attorney's office in Salt Lake City has decided not to file charges against Tim Ballard, the founder of an anti-child-trafficking organization that was featured in a 2023 movie. Ballard is accused by multiple women of exploiting his position and using it to abuse them.
According to court documents, several women have filed lawsuits alleging that Ballard took advantage of their desire to help combat child trafficking. They claim he used his power to coerce them into sharing intimate moments with him, under the guise of pretending to be a married couple in order to fool traffickers.
The office's decision comes after finding "insufficient admissible evidence" to support charges against Ballard. The DA said the law requires strong evidence that would remove every reasonable doubt from a jury.
Mark Eisenhut, one of Ballard's attorneys, called the decision "absolute sense". He believes the authorities should focus on false accusers rather than Ballard.
Ballard stepped down as leader of Operation Underground Railroad amid similar allegations. However, some have criticized him and his organization for its connections to QAnon theories and far-right groups, citing concerns about exploitation and malfeasance.
The district attorney's office in Salt Lake City has decided not to file charges against Tim Ballard, the founder of an anti-child-trafficking organization that was featured in a 2023 movie. Ballard is accused by multiple women of exploiting his position and using it to abuse them.
According to court documents, several women have filed lawsuits alleging that Ballard took advantage of their desire to help combat child trafficking. They claim he used his power to coerce them into sharing intimate moments with him, under the guise of pretending to be a married couple in order to fool traffickers.
The office's decision comes after finding "insufficient admissible evidence" to support charges against Ballard. The DA said the law requires strong evidence that would remove every reasonable doubt from a jury.
Mark Eisenhut, one of Ballard's attorneys, called the decision "absolute sense". He believes the authorities should focus on false accusers rather than Ballard.
Ballard stepped down as leader of Operation Underground Railroad amid similar allegations. However, some have criticized him and his organization for its connections to QAnon theories and far-right groups, citing concerns about exploitation and malfeasance.
. i mean don't get me wrong, justice should be served and all that but can't we just acknowledge the fact that this whole situation is super suspicious? and what's with the criticism from mark eisenhut's team saying they should focus on false accusers instead of Ballard? sounds like a pretty clear case of gaslighting to me 
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It's not like they're perfect, but come on! The fact that 3+ women came forward saying he coerced them into sharing intimate moments is super credible... NOT. 
It's just so frustrating when people in power think they're above the law. 
And then the DA office just decides to let him off the hook because they didn't have enough evidence? It's like they're saying he's innocent until proven guilty or something. 
I know the movie made him look like a hero, but now we're finding out he was basically using these women to get intimate moments to "fool" traffickers... that's just messed up. 
And now he's blaming them for being false accusers? 
I don't think the DA's decision is surprising at all - it's not like they didn't know what was going on when they started investigating Ballard. the problem is that he got away with using his power to abuse those women, no one's really held accountable 
it's like the system is so flawed, it protects people in positions of power from getting what they deserve 
this guy's been accused of some pretty serious stuff by multiple people and the DA just decides to let him slide because they didn't have enough evidence?