Operation Underground Railroad

Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) is a United States-based nonprofit organization which is involved in the rescue of human trafficking and sex trafficking victims, with a special focus on children, and a wider goal of eliminating sex trafficking world-wide.[1] The group was founded in 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah, by Tim Ballard, allegedly a former officer of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Operation Underground Railroad
AbbreviationO.U.R.
Named afterUnderground Railroad
FoundedOctober 2013
FounderTimothy Ballard
Founded atSalt Lake City, Utah
TypeNon-governmental organization, non-profit organization
FocusHumanitarian
HeadquartersAnaheim, California
Area served
Global
MethodRescue, Aftercare, Prevention
Key people
Tim Ballard
Websiteourrescue.org
An Operation Underground Railroad information tent in 2018

As of April 2020, O.U.R. stated that they had been involved in the rescue of 3,000 victims and the arrests of 182 traffickers.[1]

History

Tim Ballard stated that prior to founding O.U.R., served 12 years as a U.S. Special Agent for the Department of Homeland Security, on the Internet Crimes against Children Task Force and the U.S. Child Sex Tourism Jump Team. The Atlantic writer Kaitlyn Tiffany wrote in her article about O.U.R., "Spokespeople for the CIA and DHS said they could not confirm Ballard's employment record without his written permission, which he did not provide." 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.[2][3] Subsequently, he left the government in October 2013 to found Operation Underground Railroad.[2][3][4] The organization was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, but they also have offices in Southern California.

To help raise awareness and support, film producer Gerald R. Molen approached Ballard to document preparation and activity relating to a few covert operations for a feature film. The documentary, titled The Abolitionists, was released in early 2016.[5]

O.U.R. has also partnered with organizations such as Fort Myers’s Rockstar Harley-Davidson dealership to organize events to raise awareness of child sex trafficking.[6]

Celebrities such as Corbin Kaufusi, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, and Tony Robbins have helped raise funds for O.U.R.[7][8]

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin also took a relief trip to Haiti with O.U.R. in 2018, which was filmed for an ESPN documentary.[9]

Operations

According to the organization, O.U.R. works with supporting governments and organizations in one or more of the following activities: prevention, discovery, preparation, rescue, victim recovery programs, and fundraising efforts.[2][3][10] Their team members are of former military and law enforcement officials including Matt Osborne, Carlos Maza, Francisco Vega, Dean Morgan, and Dodd Dupree as well as other support volunteers. Operations are segments of any coordinated effort, training and/or direct involvement to rescue trafficking victims. O.U.R. states it does not work independently, or without government participation and support.[11][12][5][3][13][2][4] A documentary called Operation Toussaint was created in 2018 featuring the operations of O.U.R. in Haiti.[14]

International operations

In April 2022, O.U.R. participated in an anti-trafficking summit in Cartagena, Colombia.[15] The same year, O.U.R. also provided investigative and undercover support in the arrests of Nelson Maatman, Marthijn Uittenbogaard (both expatriated, self-describing activist Dutch pedophiles in Mexico and Ecuador respectively), and Uittenbogaard's adult male partner.[16][17] Maatman's Lawyer has since complained of his client's mistreatment in jail,[18] while the Dutch Journalist, Anton Dautzenberg (a long-term contact of Uittenbogaard) claims Uittenbogaard is not guilty of the accusations, and that Ballard has intimidated child witnesses and engaged in corruption.[19] In a February 2023 opinion published for Het Parool, Arnon Grunberg has criticized what he sees as suspect financial ties between O.U.R., their strategic partner in the Maatman/Uittenbogaard operations (the Dutch Free A Girl Foundation) and the Dutch Government, calling for dispassionate investigation of the matter.[20]

In August 2022, O.U.R. supported an operation in the Dominican Republic involving raids, the arrest of 14 suspects, and over 200 law enforcement agents.[21]

Law enforcement support

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.[22][23]

Aftercare

According to O.U.R., and publicity surrounding O.U.R. awareness-raising campaigns, the company runs an aftercare program,[24] providing medical and psychological services, education, and vocational opportunities to survivors.[25] In January 2022, O.U.R. stated that in 2021 it provided aftercare in 30 countries.[26] In February 2020, O.U.R. paid for the trip to Italy, where her birth family now lives, of an American woman who says she was stolen as a baby from her parents, who were poor farmers in Romania, and raised by adoptive parents in Wisconsin.[27]

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."[4] In 2021 and 2022, Damion Moore of American Crime Journal presented evidence alleging that former partners of O.U.R. had parted ways with the organization, citing among their concerns, O.U.R.'s dereliction of aftercare responsibilities.[28][29]

Criticism and investigations

The supporters of O.U.R. have been criticized for promoting the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon,[30][31][32] while Ballard has been accused of using social media to fake a commercial partnership with American Airlines.[33]

A 2020 Vice News investigation found a divide between the organization's actual practices and some of its claimed successes. For instance, O.U.R. claimed that it rescued a woman named "Liliana", who according to a court testimony of Timothy Ballard escaped by herself.[34][35] 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.[36]

In October 2020, the Attorney's Office of Davis County, Utah stated that O.U.R. and Ballard were under investigation regarding complaints that O.U.R. had conducted illegal fundraising efforts by fabricating rescues that never took place.[37][38][39][40][41]

References
  1. "WHAT'S IN A NUMBER? #Rescue 500". Operation Underground Railroad. 2016-05-11. Archived from the original on 2016-05-18. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  2. RICHARD BYRNE REILLY (2014-04-26). "Tech startup Operation Underground Railroad is saving kids from human traffickers" (News). VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  3. "Inside The Fight Against Child Sex Trafficking". 2015-05-07. Archived from the original on 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
  4. "The New Abolitionists". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2016-05-16. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  5. "The Abolitionists Movie - A Mission to End Child Trafficking". The Abolitionists. Archived from the original on 2018-02-20. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  6. Guerrero, Andrea (2021-07-24). "Operation Underground Railroad ride set to begin Saturday for human trafficking awareness". WINK News. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  7. Ireland, Kyle (2021-02-05). "Niners Lineman Corbin Kaufusi Plays Fortnite With Ninja For Operation Underground Railroad". KSL Sports. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  8. Genovese, Daniella (2020-03-06). "Tony Robbins raises $18M for charity with 60th birthday bash". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  9. Kozora, Alex (2018-09-21). "Mike Tomlin Talks Traveling To Haiti To Fight Human Trafficking". Steelers Depot. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  10. Herald, Karissa Neely Daily. "Utah abolitionists say it's time to rescue victims of sex trafficking". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  11. "Understanding Human Trafficking through the Lens of Civil Society: Awareness, Advocacy and Action". Archived from the original on 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  12. "Rescuing Children From Colombia's Sex Trafficking Trade". ABC News. 2014-10-22. Archived from the original on 2015-12-30. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  13. "Rescuing Children from Sex Slavery: One Mormon's Inspired Mission". LDS Living. 2015-02-27. Archived from the original on 2016-05-14. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  14. Terry, Josh (27 July 2018). "Movie review: Gripping 'Operation Toussaint' shows Tim Ballard's real-life battle against sex trafficking". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  15. Staff (April 6, 2022). "With US agents, they seek to dismantle sexual exploitation networks". EL HERALDO (in Spanish). Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  16. "'Gevluchte Nederlandse pedofielen opgepakt in Ecuador'". Telegraaf.nl. 24 Jun 2022. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  17. "Electronic-sniffing dog helps in pedophilia arrest in Mexico". AP NEWS. 15 June 2022. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  18. "Pedoactivist Nelson M. in Mexicaanse cel: 'Onzedelijke vernederingen door medegevangen'". Panorama. 6 Jul 2022. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  19. "De gruwelijke gevolgen van een hysterische heksenjacht (en updates)". A.H.J. Dautzenberg. Archived from the original on 2023-03-06. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
  20. "Arnon Grunberg over de zaak-Pim Lammers: 'Dubieuze organisaties leveren brandstof om de burger op te hitsen'". Het Parool. 11 Feb 2023.
  21. "Network caught trafficking women in Operation Cattleya". listindiario.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-11. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  22. "Electronic Detection Deployed Dogs". Jordan Detection K9. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  23. 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.
  24. "Abuse Relief Corps merges with O. U. R. to become Operation Underground Railroad Ghana". www.ghanaweb.com. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  25. Toone, Trent (14 June 2019). "Operation Underground Railroad aftercare director gives training on how to spot a trafficker". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  26. "The Journal of Nonprofit Innovation" (PDF). January 1, 2022. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  27. 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.
  28. Moore, Damion (February 15, 2022). "doTerra Internal Memo states it found "concrete evidence" of O.U.R. misconduct - American Crime Journal". American Crime Journal. Retrieved Mar 12, 2023.
  29. Moore, Damion (February 22, 2021). "The Elizabeth Smart Foundation Severed All Ties with O.U.R. - American Crime Journal". American Crime Journal. Retrieved Mar 12, 2023.
  30. Roose, Kevin (2020-08-12). "QAnon Followers Are Hijacking the #SaveTheChildren Movement". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  31. "Donald Trump Is Gone, But QAnon's Sex Trafficking Conspiracies Are Here To Stay". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  32. "WWE Referee, Wrestler-Turned-Mayor Fundraise For QAnon-Adjacent Charity". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-20. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  33. Moore, Damion (June 10, 2022). "American Airlines issues swift rebuke of Operation Underground Railroad's bogus "partnership" claim with the airline - American Crime Journal". American Crime Journal. Retrieved Mar 12, 2023.
  34. Merlan, Anna (10 December 2020). "A Famed Anti-Sex Trafficking Group Has a Problem With the Truth". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  35. "Testimony" (PDF). Judiciary.senate.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-04-15. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  36. "Inside a Massive Anti-Trafficking Charity's Blundering Overseas Missions". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  37. "Anti-human trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad under criminal investigation by Utah prosecutor". KSTU. October 8, 2020. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  38. "Anti-human-trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad under investigation". Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  39. "BREAKING NEWS: Anti-human trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad under criminal investigation by Davis County Attorney". American Crime Journal. October 8, 2020. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  40. Merlan, Anna; Marchman, Tim (June 10, 2021). "Operation Underground Railroad's Carefully Crafted Public Image Is Falling Apart". Vice News. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  41. "Anti-human trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad under criminal investigation by Utah prosecutor". fox13now.com. October 7, 2020. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
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