Where Are They Now? – The Characters from Sound of Freedom - Down The Hobbit Hole Blog (2024)

Where Are They Now – The Characters from Sound of Freedom written by the Hobbit and the Ent. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.The images in this post come from the Sound of Freedom Press Kit.

What happened to all of the Characters from Sound of Freedom

Sound of Freedom tells the powerful story of Tim Ballard as he goes on a mission to save a brother and sister from trafficking. Most of the characters in this film are real people. The others seem to be based on characters, with their name changed and some characteristics changed in order to keep a fluid, connected storyline.

If you would like more detail you can check out these articles.

–Angel.com: The Story Behind the Movie
–History vs. Hollywood: Sound of Freedom

**Disclaimer** We were disappointedthat this movie and its organizers did not provide any action steps beyond ‘go see this movie’. We do not agree with the political beliefs of the creators of this movie, but we do agree on the need and desire to help and protect children. The message of this movie is important and the plot of this movie stays away from the US politics portion of the story. The online discourse and interviews have not. (Why bring this up? Because politics are part of what’s needed to fight trafficking) We want to emphasize the importance of listening and learning from a variety of sources who are currently working to protect children and end traffickingboth in the US and in other nations.Several resources are listed in our review here –Sound of Freedom Movie Review + Action Items to Stop HumanTrafficking **

What Happened to Tim Ballard from Sound of Freedom

Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard in Sound of Freedom.
Photo from Sound of Freedom Press kit

Following the events that inspired Sound of Freedom, Tim Ballard continued working to help kids and founded Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.). This is their mission statement:

We lead the fight against child sex trafficking and sexual exploitation around the globe. Our work has no boundaries- we go to the darkest corners of the world to assist law enforcement in rescuing children and ensure ongoing aftercare. We provide critical resources to law enforcement and preventative efforts that benefit at-risk children worldwide.

-Excerpt from Ourrescue.org about us page

Tim Ballard did return home and currently resides in Utah with his wife Michelle and their nine children.

*Edited 12/6/2023: Time Ballard has been accused of mismanagement and sexual harassment by employees and volunteers of the organization. He has since stepped away from the organization and might be running for a political office. More from IndieWire on that here.

Related Read: Jesus Revolution Movie Discussion Questions

What Happened to the Aguilars from Sound of Freedom

Cristal Aparicio as Rocio Aguilar
Lucas Avila as Miguel Aguilar in Sound of Freedom.
Photo from Sound of Freedom Press kit

Miguel Aguilar is a real boy whom Tim helped rescue Miguel while working as an HSI special agent. He did give Tim the necklace, but it wasn’t Miguel’s sister whom Tim was attempting the big rescue. While Miguel does have a real life sister who was rescued from human trafficking, Rocio Aguilar is based on Tim’s dedicated attempt to search and rescue a child named Gardy. Unfortunately, Gardy has yet to be found and Tim wears a bracelet to symbolize the ongoing search. More information can be found here.

Check out more about Angel Studios movie Cabrini here

What Happened to Vampiro from Sound of Freedom

Bill Camp as Vampiro in Sound of Freedom.
Photo from Sound of Freedom Press kit

Vampiro (also known as ‘Batman’) in reality is a real person who assisted Tim Ballard. With that being said, he is still involved with helping children, which means his real name and likeness is not public information in order to allow him to continue serving in this manner.

Related Read: Discussion Questions for the Shiny Happy People documentary

What Happened to Katy-Giselle from Sound of Freedom

Yessica Borroto Perryman as Katy-Giselle in Sound of Freedom.
Photo from Sound of Freedom Press kit

In reality, Giselle is based mostly on Kelly Johana Suarez. Kelly was a Miss Cartagena beauty pageant contestant and did get into modeling, gaining a fair amount of fame and momentum. She has since been accused of sex trafficking and she is currently still detained and awaiting trial. If interested, you can find more details here

What Happened to Paul from Sound of Freedom

Eduardo Verástegui as Paul in Sound of Freedom.
Photo from Sound of Freedom Press kit

So, this is an interesting one. Paul as a wealthy person who came along for the operations seems to be fictional. According to an interview with The Daily Signal, Glenn Beck played a pivotal role in raising the funds that allowed Tim to leave his job and continue his operations. Glenn Beck is still a radio host and author active in his communities. Many others have joined with this organization and others to fight trafficking. You can too. This is a problem that is not only international and cannot just be fixed with donations.

Related Read: The Chosen Season 4 Discussion Guide

Quick notes on Some Other Characters from Sound of Freedom

–Fuego and El Alacran: According to Ballard, every villain in this movie is real. I couldn’t find any particulars on these two characters though.

-The Ballards: Tim and Michelle have nine children, two of which who have been adopted from Haiti. They range in age from six to twenty three.

These are characters of note that I could not find any tangible information on

–Frost (Ballard’s boss)
–Jorge: assisted in Ballard’s operation in the film

How to Help Stop Human Trafficking

We have a Fuller Article Here that dives in a bit more. If you want to help stop human trafficking, here is a list of organizations and resources to help end it!

–Save the Children
–International Justice Mission
–DeliverFund

You can also complete theBLI (Blue Lightning Initiative) Trainingwhich teaches the basics of human trafficking and what to do if spotted.

Thanks for checking out our What happened to the Characters from Sound of Freedom post. Before you go, check out these other posts:

–Jesus RevolutionDiscussion Questions and Review and What Happened to the Characters from Jesus Revolution

-5 lessons on communicationfrom Narnia here.

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