NOTE: A lawsuit represents only one side of a story.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — In one of several sexual assault lawsuits against former Operation Underground Railroad CEO Tim Ballard, a motion was filed in court Monday, claiming new information: Ballard’s DNA matched the DNA found on a victim’s skirt.
The motion claims the state crime lab told plaintiffs Celeste and Michael Borys that Ballard’s DNA matched the DNA found on Celeste Borys’ skirt, however, they would not release the results due to the ongoing criminal investigation. While the motion claims Ballard is working to dismiss the case, Borys is fighting to keep it open until the DNA results are officially released.
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In their first amended complaint, Celeste and Michael Borys claimed that Ballard ejaculated on Celeste Borys’ leather skirt during an alleged assault. Ballard denied assaulting Celeste Borys, claimed she had “fallen in love” with him, and said he didn’t reciprocate the feeling, which is why she was suing him, according to documents.
The Borys couple provided the skirt from the incident to the Utah County Detective who was participating in the criminal investigation of Ballard. Documents said the detective verified the skirt had semen on it, and it did not match her husband Michael Borys’ DNA.
“It is believed that a search warrant was obtained, and Timothy Ballard provided a DNA sample,” the motion said. “Approximately two weeks ago, the Utah County Detective verified to Plaintiffs, that the DNA was a 100% match of Ballard’s DNA.”
Celeste and Michael Borys are now seeking to use the official test results in court.
The motion filed on Monday, July 8, called the DNA results a “key piece of evidence” that should be brought to court before the court rules on possibly terminating the case.
The motion claims the case “needs to be evaluated within the context of a man repeatedly grooming and sexually assaulting Plaintiff (and several other women), leaving his DNA on her skirt, and then going on a media campaign to discredit and dishonor Plaintiff and his other victims.”
ABC4.com reached out to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office to seek comment on the Borys’ request for the DNA evidence. The sheriff’s office said they “are not able to comment because the investigation is still active.”
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Celeste Borys worked with Ballard at OUR as his executive assistant, and she and her husband filed their original lawsuit against Ballard in Oct. 2023.
Celeste Borys was reportedly involved in an OUR operation dubbed the “Couples Ruse,” during which the alleged assaults occurred, according to court documents.
Previous court documents obtained by ABC4.com explained that the “Couples Ruse” consisted of a woman pretending to be Ballard’s wife — or the sexual partner of other male operatives — to “prevent detection by traffickers when the male would not engage with the women or children allegedly being trafficked.”
OUR operatives would reportedly go undercover to rescue victims of trafficking, but several lawsuits against Ballard allege that the “Couples Ruse” was used as a way for Ballard to assault and traffic the female operatives who were pretending to be his wife. Ballard has denied these allegations.
One of the exhibits included in the motion was a letter — dated June 24, 2024 — from the Borys’ lawyer to the Utah County Attorney and the Salt Lake District Attorney, which asked for “immediate arrangements to obtain the written DNA results.”
“Celeste wants to obtain these results before they could possibly disappear,” the letter read.
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Ballard was recently dismissed from one of the lawsuits against him, with documents citing a lack of evidence from the plaintiff.
Ballard is still facing three other lawsuits — in addition to the one filed by the Borys couple — in relation to his alleged misconduct during those undercover operations, as well as the portrayal of a character in the film “The Sound of Freedom.”
ABC4.com has reached out to Tim Ballard’s spokesperson for comment and received the following statement:
Tainting an ongoing investigation to desperately try to generate some PR is consistent with the other illegal and unethical behavior that has been a hallmark of the Borys case from the beginning – and a reason the whole case is now in jeopardy. We’ll wait for the court’s judgement on their actions and for law enforcement to complete its investigation, if that’s even possible now.”
Spokesperson for Tim Ballard
The full motion that was filed on July 8, including photos of messages and other exhibits, can be read below:
TIMOTHYBALLARD.FiledMotionHearingRequestedtoContinueHearingandRulingonDefendantTimBallardsMotionforTerminatingSanctionsUntilBallardsDNATestResultsAreReleasedbytheStateCrimeLab.2024.07.08Download
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