Tim Ballard arranged for AG Reyes to use cocaine in a downtown penthouse, changed court claims

NOTE: A chase represents only one side of a story.

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The new filing of the lawsuit against the founder of Operation Underground Railroad Tim Ballard says Utah Attorney General Sean ReyesBallard’s longtime friend, was using cocaine in a Salt Lake City penthouse.

The amendment to the lawsuit was filed Friday and contained several new assertions, including that a now-deceased leader of the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was aware of one of Ballard’s alleged sexual assaults.

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In a statement, Chad Kolton, a spokesman for Tim Ballard, said the women behind the civil suit “would defame anyone — including respected members of the LDS Church — without any evidence if they believe that it can help them become rich.”

The new filing says Operation Underground Railroad gave nearly $1 million to the attorney general’s office to motivate Reyes to protect Tim Ballard and the anti-child sex trafficking organization he founded.

The lawsuit claims, via an unidentified witness, that Ballard was angry with Reyes over a criminal investigation opened in Davis County, “especially since Ballard arranged for General Reyes to use a penthouse at Mac’s Place with women and cocaine.”

At Mac is a members-only lounge located in downtown Salt Lake City. According to its website, it offers conference rooms, a penthouse and services such as massages, haircuts and beard trims.

ABC4 reached out to Reyes’ personal advisor for comment, but calls from the station went unanswered.

In December, Reyes announced he would not seek reelection. During the announcement, he said he believed the women who came forward against Ballard, accusing Ballard of manipulating and abusing them under the guise of fighting child sex trafficking.

“After hearing their stories in person, I believe them,” Reyes said at the time. “I am heartbroken by what they have endured and the trauma they will face for the rest of their lives.”

The women allege that Ballard sexually abused them as part of the so-called “couple ruse,” which Ballard publicly portrayed as an undercover tactic in which female employees or volunteers pretended to be his girlfriend during missions abroad.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Everything you need to know about the Tim Ballard controversies

This tactic was supposed to prevent him from engaging with child sex trafficking victims, but the women behind the lawsuit say he used it to coerce and abuse them. The trial was originally filed in October against Ballard, OUR and several other groups.

Among the new claims in the lawsuit are that the late President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles “sanctioned” the couple’s ruse and knew about one of the sexual assaults, during which Tim Ballard allegedly went to a woman’s home and raped her. her.

“President Ballard did not tell Tim Ballard to go to the police and report his horrible act,” the lawsuit states. “On the contrary, President Ballard told Ballard to do better at obeying the rules on dating tricks.”

ABC4 has reached out to the Church of Latter-day Saints for comment, but the station has not yet received a response.

Last fall, the church released a statement denouncing Tim Ballard, saying that he had betrayed President Ballard’s friendship and that President Ballard had “never allowed his name, or that of the church, to be used for Tim’s personal or financial interests.”

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