Utah judge resigns after being charged with enticing minors
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Emily Ashcraft, KSL.com
BRIGHAM CITY, Utah (KSL.com) — Kevin Christensen resigned from his position as a judge in the 1st District Justice Court after he was charged with eight felonies, a court spokesperson confirmed Friday.
RELATED | Utah judge arrested, accused of sexually enticing minors on chat app
He resigned on Monday, the day he was charged with two counts of enticing a minor, a second-degree felony, along with two counts of dealing in materials harmful to a minor, three counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, and obstruction of justice, all third-degree felonies.
The court spokesperson said he had previously been placed on unpaid leave during the investigation.
Charging documents said the judge engaged in disturbing conversations with Tremonton Fire Chief Ned Brady Hansen, 54, about sexually abusing children and the two men were also involved in a sexual relationship.
Hansen was charged on Tuesday with eight counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a first-degree felony.
As a judge, Christensen, 64, denied a request to keep Hansen in custody in January after Brigham City police executed a search warrant at Hansen’s home and argued Hansen would pose a risk to children in the community.
The criminal cases for both men have been moved from the Brigham City District Court to the Ogden. Christensen has his first court appearance on March 20, and Hansen on March 17.
The investigation into Hansen began in November when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received information that an account connected to Hansen had engaged in distributing child sex abuse material. An arrest report said Hansen admitted to possessing the videos related to the tip and subscribing to the application.
Later, police found Hansen “had an extensive number of chats” with Christensen “that were graphically sexual and involved discussion of sexually abusing children,” according to the arrest affidavit.
Charging documents for Christensen said FBI investigators found an account connected to him was being used to communicate with others about sexually abusing children. It cited graphic sexual conversations with girls who told him they were 13 and 16 years old and said he shared personal details about himself and sent explicit photos on the app.
Hansen was fired on Monday after Tremonton officials learned of his arrest, city manager Bill Cobabe reported. He said Wednesday that the city is doing its best to try to help the community mend while rebuilding trust in government.
“Our whole community is kind of reeling on this,” Cobabe said. “We’re just trying to make sense of everything. This is a tough day.”
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