SALT LAKE CITY — A judge has ordered Tim Ballard to be deposed, or interviewed under oath, within the next 30 days for up to two hours.
Ballard was the CEO of the anti-human trafficking nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad (OUR). The organization "permanently separated" from Ballard after an internal investigation in which several women came forward to accuse Ballard of spiritual manipulation and sexual misconduct.
WATCH: Judge to determine whether evidence against Ballard was ‘stolen’
Ballard is now a defendant in four civil lawsuits and is the subject of multiple criminal investigations. He has not been criminally charged.
Judge Todd M. Shaughnessy also called for early limited depositions of plaintiffs Celeste Borys and Mike Borys.
The judge is seeking to make a ruling on whether some of the evidence being presented against Ballard should be excluded from the case.
Attorneys for Ballard and OUR argue the material was "stolen" from Ballard's email address and distributed to other plaintiffs.
Celeste Borys was Ballard's executive assistant. She said the evidence was not stolen because Ballard provided her with a username and password, allowing "unfettered access" to his emails.
Plaintiffs say some of the emails show Ballard receiving a blessing in which he’s anointed as the “chosen one... not subject to the jurisdiction of government and church authorities.”
Some of the emails relate to a criminal fraud investigation into Ballard which began in 2020.
One of the pages shows a screenshot of FOX 13 News investigative reporter Adam Herbets informing the public of the criminal investigation in 2020.
Documents drafted by OUR’s attorneys indicated Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings felt Ballard had engaged in “sexual affairs with eight different women all of whom were members of a group call(ed) ‘Mormon Women with Blue Eyes’ (‘MWBE’).”
Another page shows how the nonprofit had been reportedly informed that investigators had evidence Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and Tim Ballard’s wife, Katherine Ballard, were “guilty of witness tampering.”
“(Davis County Attorney Troy) Rawlings alleged to have written communication which Katherine had sent via email to witnesses claiming Ballard was a second iteration of Joseph Smith and Rawlings is the devil, and further telling witnesses not to cooperate with Rawlings (the ‘Joseph Smith Email’).”
OUR and Ballard disputed the allegations.
Representatives of OUR will also be interviewed as part of a "30(b)(6) deposition" within the next 30 days, meaning the individual(s) must be "fully prepared and knowledgeable witnesses on the topics designated."
