Former Utah fire chief and judge make appearances in court

OGDEN, Utah (KSL.com) — Former Tremonton Fire Chief Ned Brady Hansen and former 1st District Judge Kevin Christensen appeared in court on Thursday afternoon to hear their charges involving sexual crimes against children formally read.

Both criminal cases have been moved from the Brigham City District Court to Ogden after judges in Brigham City recused themselves because of their professional connection with Christensen.

Christensen, 64, shuffled in for his first appearance, never looking through his wire-framed glasses at the packed gallery and reporters lining the aisle with cameras pointed at him. He was shackled at his hands and feet, wearing the faded blue and gray stripes of his Davis County Jail uniform, accompanied by his lawyer, Ryan Bushell.

The hearing was a simple reading of information about the charges against Christensen, stemming from a November 2024 investigation. His charges: two counts of inciting a minor, three counts of attempted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, both second-degree felonies, two counts of dealing in materials harmful to minors, and one count of obstruction of justice, all third-degree felonies.

Christensen spoke only to say he understood the charges and to thank the judge.

The five second-degree felonies, according to Judge Joseph Bean, each carry a sentencing range of one to 15 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. The three third-degree felonies each have a potential sentence of zero to five years in prison and $0 to $5,000 in fines.

Christensen’s next hearing was set for April 24. He is being held without bail.

Tremonton Fire Chief Ned Brady Hansen, 54, was charged with eight counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a first-degree felony. He first appeared in court Monday, where his attorney asked for a hearing with his assigned judge on Thursday to address bail.

Hansen, who is being held at the Weber County Jail, looked attentive and wide-eyed across the courtroom. The former fire chief’s defense team requested he be released on bail. “He’s been a firefighter in the community,” Hansen’s defense attorney Shannon Demler said. “He’s been employed here … he owns his own house, he has substantial equity in the house, he has a wife and two daughters in the area,” Demler said, arguing he is not a flight risk.

Carl Hollan, with the attorney general’s office, said they filed a warrant for arrest instead of a summons because of the “highly disturbing and dangerous sexual behavior” alleged in this case, arguing against bail.

Due to the evidence supporting the charges, Judge Joseph Bean denied the request for bail. Hansen was scheduled for another hearing on May 1. His family rushed out of the room in tears.

Hansen appeared before Christensen, in his former role as a judge, in January. Prosecutors asked the then-judge to keep him in custody, without bail, before official charges had been filed — a request Christensen denied, ruling Hansen could be released. At that point, investigators had not connected the two men.

A booking affidavit for Christensen said he did not disclose during that hearing that he and Hansen had sent “sexually charged chats” to each other — something the officers believed affected his decision to release Hansen.

An investigation into Hansen’s behavior began in November after law enforcement connected him to an account on an app that had distributed child sex abuse material, charging documents said.

Later, police discovered chats between Hansen and Christensen, where Hansen “expressed interest” in sexually abusing children and offered to “share” the children with Christensen, charges said. The documents said Christiansen offered to share pictures of children he knew with Hansen and that the two were involved in a sexual relationship together.

Contributing: Emily Ashcraft

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