Human Race: Undercover questions

Tim Ballard, 53, founded the anti-trafficking organization Operation Underground Railroad in 2013, but lately his battle has been with certain former associates. Ballard on Oct. 8 filed a defamation lawsuit against six women who accused him of sexual misconduct during his time at the nonprofit. The lawsuit states Ballard, a former Homeland Security agent, has been “victimized by a vicious onslaught of false allegations of sexual assault” intended to sabotage his efforts to rescue trafficking victims.

Ballard’s work against sex trafficking became the basis of the 2023 movie Sound of Freedom. That same year, concerns over his conduct began surfacing as women came forward in lawsuits and in media reports claiming he coerced or forced them into sexual encounters. The women said the alleged encounters took place as part of undercover operations targeting sex trafficking cartels in which Ballard variously asked them to pose as his wife or girlfriend. In a rare rebuke, the Latter-day Saints religious organization denounced Ballard’s alleged conduct as “morally unacceptable.” In June 2023, Ballard stepped down from Operation Underground Railroad but has repeatedly denied all allegations against him.

Ballard’s attorneys stated that in many instances the women are retaliating because he spurned their advances toward him. Ballard’s new lawsuit names six of his female accusers, demanding they pay him for the damage done to his reputation. He filed a separate defamation lawsuit in September against another female accuser.

Charges dropped

The Scottish Episcopal Church announced Oct. 8 it would dismiss disciplinary proceedings against its first female bishop, despite obtaining legal advice that it has sufficient evidence to pursue bullying allegations against her. In August 2022, the church suspended the Right Rev. Anne Dyer a year after priests and staff accused her of bullying. She denied the charges, insisting she has faced “significant bullying and harassment” herself. A spokesperson for Dyer has said some congregants want her removed as bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney because she supports female bishops and same-sex marriage. The church’s independent procurator said a public tribunal would only make a difficult situation worse for witnesses and the church. But some parishioners upset about the dismissed charges have threatened to leave the church and remove it from their wills. —Sharon Dierberger

Taking the cake

After 12 years, Masterpiece Cakeshop baker Jack Phillips’ long ­battle for freedom to create cakes consistent with his Christian beliefs may finally be over. In early October, the Colorado Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit brought by a customer who asked Phillips to design a custom cake to celebrate a gender transition. The case’s dismissal follows a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found the Colorado Civil Rights Commission religiously discriminated against him when it threatened him with punishment after he refused to create a cake for a homosexual wedding. Jim Campbell, the Alliance Defending Freedom attorney who represented Phillips, told WORLD Phillips has shown admirable faith throughout his years in court. “Jack does not worry. He’s not frightened. He’s not fearful. He has faith in the Lord to walk him through difficult places.” —Steve West

Bin Laden ban

Omar bin Laden, fourth son of terrorist Osama bin Laden, has been banned from returning to France “for any reason whatsoever.” French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on Oct. 8 he was upholding a 2023 decision by authorities ordering bin Laden to leave the country. Omar bin Laden, 43, lived in the region of Normandy with his British wife from 2016 to 2023 and worked as an artist. He left the country in October 2023 by order of French authorities after they said he made social media comments on the anniversary of his father’s death that “glorified terrorism and al-Qaeda.” Bin Laden denied he was the author of the comments, but did not repudiate them. He now reportedly lives in Qatar. —Jenny Lind Schmitt

Evidence exam

The notorious case of Erik and Lyle Menendez, two brothers who killed their parents in Beverly Hills in 1989, has taken a surprising turn. Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon announced Oct. 3 he was reviewing new evidence corroborating claims that Erik and Lyle’s father was sexually abusive, a finding that could lead to the brothers being resentenced, retried, or released altogether. The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996 in a case that attracted enormous media coverage. Prosecutors had alleged the Menendez brothers killed in cold blood to collect a multi­million-dollar inheritance, but the brothers claimed they feared for their lives after years of sexual abuse by their father. —Emma Freire

Cooking the credits

The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York announced fraud charges Oct. 2 against Kenneth Newcombe, the former CEO of C-Quest Capital LLC, a global carbon-project developer. Newcombe allegedly manipulated data for at least two years to make high-efficiency cookstove projects in Africa and Southeast Asia appear more successful than they were at reducing carbon emissions. CQC then sold carbon credits worth millions of dollars more than expected in the voluntary exchange where companies buy credits to offset the amount of gases emitted from their operations. According to prosecutors, Newcombe, 77, a pioneer in global carbon-­credit financing, also used the fraudulent data to ­successfully solicit a $250 million investment in his company. CQC avoided charges itself by voluntarily disclosing the alleged misconduct in June. —Todd Vician

Reporter detained

The Committee to Protect Journalists on Oct. 1 called on the government of Cambodia to release investigative journalist Mech Dara a day after police near Sihanoukville arrested and charged him with “incitement to provoke serious social chaos.” Mech Dara allegedly posted photos and messages on social media critiquing the existence of a rock quarry on a sacred Cambodian mountain. His work as a journalist has highlighted environmental destruction, human trafficking, and corruption. Last year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave Mech Dara a hero’s award for exposing a multibillion-­dollar scam compound staffed with trafficked workers in his homeland. Rights groups say Cambodian authorities often use charges of incitement to silence activists and critics. Mech Dara, 36, faces up to two years in prison under the charges. —Amy Lewis