Who is Paul Hutchinson? ‘Sound of Freedom’ producer accused of groping possibly underage trafficking victim’s breasts
DRAPER, UTAH: Paul Hutchinson, an executive producer on the 2023 film ‘Sound of Freedom’, has been accused of groping the breasts of a young trafficking victim during an undercover operation.
The 52-year-old Hutchinson, who was among the earliest investors in the film, is said to have touched the naked breasts of a young girl during a 2016 operation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
In addition to running his own charity, the Child Liberation Foundation, Hutchinson is also the co-founder of Bridge Investment Group, which he claims controls $40 billion in funds.
According to documents obtained by VICE, Hutchinson was working with Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) when the shocking incident took place in Mexico.
The OUR was founded in 2013 by Tim Ballard, who is also facing allegations of sexual misconduct by at least seven women.
Why did Paul Hutchinson touch young girl’s breast?
It is currently unclear exactly what led Hutchinson to touch the young girl’s breast but VICE claimed that his actions were recorded by videographers working with OUR on a documentary and subsequent TV series called ‘The Abolitionists’.
The alleged footage was later reviewed by investigator Bryan Purdy of the Davis County Attorney’s Office, who wrote detailed descriptions of it as part of an FBI investigation into Ballard and OUR.
FBI’s investigation into the organization was closed earlier this year, without any charges being brought forward.
The descriptions included in documents obtained by VICE indicated that Hutchinson and OUR believed the trafficking victim was 16 years old at the time.
According to another video description, Hutchinson told Matt Osborne that he was worried about the prospect of facing legal action from the Mexican government for his actions in the incident.
Did Paul Hutchinson admit to groping the young girl?
When VICE questioned Hutchinson, he did not dispute the investigator's account of his behavior nor did he deny touching the trafficking victim’s naked breasts.
However, he did assert that he had a Mexican federal police written declaration stating that the victim was older than 18.
“There is a lot to the story, a very dangerous situation and I am happy to let the world know the details when the time is right,” Hutchinson wrote in an email to VICE.
“Every operator who was present stood behind me in how I reacted to the situation. I have zero reservations as to how I handled myself undercover. You won’t find trafficked children in the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton. We had to go to the most dangerous places on the planet to find the children. All my undercover work was done with integrity and honor,” the letter continued.
According to VICE, Hutchinson did not always follow 'best practices' while investigating human trafficking.
The outlet claims he posed sometimes as a sex tourist looking for young girls and asked for them to be 'mas fresca' (underage) rather than adults.