As a child growing up in the Catholic church of Utah, Timothy Ballard always found direction and comfort in the word of God. Studying at Brigham Young University, he had intended to work in federal law enforcement, fighting terrorism and weaponry. After finishing graduate school, he was stationed as a special agent on the California border, where he spent six months working his dream job. Later approached by his boss, Ballard was offered a job in the newly established "Protecting Children in Cyberspace" unit in 2002.

"According to my boss, he says 'I know you're a person of faith – and you need to do this.'"

Not knowing what to expect, Ballard accepted the position, and it was here that the horrors of the sex trafficking problem became clear as day. Spending hours watching and reviewing evidence of child sex trafficking cases was hard to stomach. The videos were too dark to describe, to detail them for the court, and to then meet the child he had just watched.

It was another case like this that changed his life forever. Being a part of a group that stopped a man at the border with a five-year-old boy in the back of his van, Ballard was distraught. This boy was being kidnapped from Mexico by a middle-aged man who ran a large porn studio in San Bernardino, California.

"The child I was seeing, who I had already seen the videos of him being raped by the pedophile who's driving the van."

Giving Ballard a long and tight hug and a thanks for saving his life, the boy asked for one more favor – if he could save his older sister who was also taken. With this, the boy gave him a necklace depicting a Bible quote from Timothy 6:11 – a bishop with whom Ballard shares a name.

"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness." Timothy 6:11.

This was a sign that he was meant to do something bigger, to see the bigger picture, and to help the defenseless children kidnapped and sold to sex trafficking. Facing regulations of working across borders in Homeland Security, Ballard quit and gave in his badge at the encouragement of his wife. From here the plan was anything but simple — find and save the Honduran kids being trafficked in Colombia, including the boy's sister.

Feeling inspired, Ballard started Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) in order to garner support and funding for his plan. He went to Colombia and worked alongside Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) to properly look into the case. Through immense training, investigating, and passion, the group was able to coordinate three takedowns in Colombia, where 123 survivors, including 55 minors, were rescued. They called this Operation Triple Takedown, the OUR's largest to date.

After returning to California, Ballard decided to take his fighting further, becoming a vocal activist for the anti-sex trafficking problem, growing his company OUR, and writing 13 books about his stories and ideologies, including Operation Toussaint: Operation Underground Railroad and the Fight to End Modern Day Slavery, a story about a mission held in Haiti.

A film on Ballard's life was adapted in 2023 titled Sound of Freedom, depicting Ballard's story and bringing awareness to the child trafficking epidemic. 

Written by: Ireland Fidale
Photo courtesy of Angel Studios