Sound of Freedom's Tim Ballard compares his anti-trafficking missions to saving women and children from HAMAS as he denies claims he sexually assaulted female operatives

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Tim Ballard has hit back at claims he sexually assaulted female operatives during overseas anti-trafficking missions by comparing his activities to saving women and children from Hamas.

Ballard, a devout Mormon whose exploits were turned into the hit movie Sound of Freedom, is facing two lawsuits in which he is accused of sexually manipulating, abusing and harassing at least five women on foreign missions that were supposed to save child sex slaves.

On Wednesday night, the married father-of-nine launched an extraordinary defense of his activities with his anti-trafficking organization, Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), in which he invoked current atrocities in the Middle East.

He and his wife Katherine issued a joint statement citing Ballard's purported heroics.

'It was 9 years ago today that 120 women and children were rescued from evil and conspiring traffickers on a remote island in Colombia, as depicted in the hit movie SOUND OF FREEDOM.

Tim Ballard has denied he sexually abused female colleagues on his anti-trafficking team 

He said the missions saved the lives of women and children, comparing his actions to rescuing victims from the hands of Hamas

Ballard's exploits were turned into the hit movie 'Sound of Freedom', in which he is played by Passion of Christ actor Jim Caviezel (pictured)

'These women and children have names and faces; they are real people. They tragically call to mind the innocent women and children who are pawns in the horrific events in Israel at the hands of the terrorist group Hamas,' the couple said.

Hamas has been accused of massacring Israeli communities and beheading babies and children during the deadliest attack on the Jewish community since the Holocaust. 

Ballard's analogy is likely to enrage his female accusers, who have claimed OUR missions largely involved flying first class to 'strip clubs and massage parlors across the world' and staying at five-star hotels.

DailyMail.com has revealed a trio of Salt Lake City strip clubs where Ballard allegedly groomed women auditioning for a role on his team promise clients the 'most sensual, sexy dance in the world', with one describing itself as a 'mega adult club'. 

OUR has previously been accused of grossly exaggerating its achievements, while Sound of Freedom was criticized for mythologizing its missions.

The two lawsuits, filed in Utah, claim this helped Ballard become 'a character of mythical proportions with unquestioned legitimacy', which was bolstered by his 'enmeshment with the Mormon church' and endorsements from high-profile public figures, including Donald Trump and Utah State Attorney General Sean Reyes.

He used this status to pressure budding female operatives into engaging in intimate sexual acts with him, claiming that it was for the good of the mission, it is alleged.

The women say Ballard concocted the 'couple's ruse' tactic, which required female operatives to pose as his wife during the missions.

Ballard has claimed this allowed male operatives to turn down offers of underage sex from traffickers by claiming their wife was present and would not allow it.

But his accusers allege it simply provided the 47-year-old with opportunities to coerce them into sexual acts in 'various states of undress'.

The first lawsuit was filed Monday on behalf of five unnamed women, with a second filed on Tuesday on behalf of a divorced couple who claimed Ballard's sexual grooming caused the break up of their marriage.

The claimants' lawyers have said they will reveal their identities in due course, as the legal process requires.

OUR has previously been accused of grossly exaggerating its achievements, while Sound of Freedom was criticized for mythologizing its missions

In a joint statement with his wife, Katherine (left), Ballard said the sex trafficking victims he rescued 'tragically call to mind the innocent women and children who are pawns in the horrific events in Israel at the hands of the terrorist group Hamas'

Ballard is said to have sent at least one woman a photo of himself in his underwear and to have asked another 'how far she was willing to go' to save children, according to one source

Ballard (center) allegedly took ketamine while dictating revelations from a Mormon prophet who foretold he would be the next US President. Ballard had already forged a connection with former president Donald Trump, pictured here on an episode of the anti-trafficking activist's podcast, with Jim Caviezel (right), who played Ballard in Sound of Freedom 

But the Ballards' statement hit out at their anonymity.

'We regret that the five women who have come forward—though still without names and faces—are caught up in this difficult struggle we face together,' it said.

'Two of these women went on actual OUR operations. One went on a single operation, and the other woman repeatedly put herself in harm's way. Three did not go on any actual operations, as they did not make it through the training and certification process.

'We know from repeatedly speaking to this one veteran operator of her authentic concern for other operators, for Tim, and for OUR. You have assured us privately that you would bravely do it again, and aren't sure how we could have changed things in the terror of the moment. You told us that OUR, its leadership and teams were learning as they went, but that you felt that the cause was too important and urgent.'

The statement added that rescuing children from child trafficking cartels 'is an ugly and dark business and leaves unintended consequences'.

It even suggested a conspiracy against Ballard, stating: 'It's evident that those who are behind these cartels have clearly woken up to the light that is being shed on their dark activities. We had no idea how much influence they had with so many powerful people and organizations in the United States.

'But we do now.'

Sound of Freedom was criticized for fueling dangerous conspiracy theories around child sex trafficking linked to QAnon, something its director, Alejandro Monteverde, has denied.

Lead actor Jim Caviezel has repeated several of the conspiracy's talking points on conservative talk shows and at QAnon-organized events, including that he believes in 'adrenochroming' – the term for the falsehood that traffickers torture children and drain their blood to harvest an elixir of youth.

Caviezel is most famous for playing Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.

It has been suggested his casting was not coincidental, with Ballard previously having stated his belief that he was directly called by God to 'find the lost children'.

The Utah lawsuits reveal the full extent of Ballard's alleged messiah complex, with documents citing an oil canvas painting of him carrying a swaddled child along a railroad that elevated him 'to an almost Mother Teresa altitude'.

Ballard allegedly took budding female operatives to Salt Lake City strip clubs to 'practice' their 'sexual chemistry' for a 'couple's ruse' tactic he had devised for overseas missions. The clubs are all within five miles of each other along a stretch dubbed 'Sin Lake City'

Ballard is alleged to have taken budding female operatives to Salt Lake City strip clubs, including Trails Gentlemen's Club (pictured) to 'practice' their 'sexual chemistry' as part of a 'couple's ruse' tactic he concocted that he claimed was to fool traffickers 

The women claim the tactic was in fact a ploy to allow Ballard to coerce them into sexually intimate acts. One claimant said Ballard took her on a strip club crawl to Trails, Exotic Kitty (pictured) and The American Bush to 'test' how she would respond to 'intense' situations  

Ballard would allegedly appeal to divine authority to justify his actions.

He did so to spiritually manipulate his female victims, almost all of whom were also Mormon, it is claimed.

One extraordinary passage from the lawsuit states that Ballard 'would get ketamine treatments and have a scribe come in with him while he would talk to the dead prophet Nephi and issue forth prophecies about Ballard's greatness and future as a United States Senator, President of the United States, and ultimately the Mormon Prophet, to usher in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ'.

The missionary, who purports to be a former CIA agent, allegedly told women his methods had been blessed by the Mormon church, who had endorsed him as a future US President and Prophet.

The Mormon church has denied this. Ballard has since been excommunicated, the lawsuit states.

Ballard has previously stated that he 'vehemently denies the allegations brought by these unnamed women' and 'looks forward to vindicating his name in the courts where evidence, and not unsubstantiated accusations in the media, decides the outcome'.