BOX ELDER COUNTY — A Utah judge and former fire chief are facing similar charges of sexually exploiting children, according to law enforcement.
Court documents report both men engaged in disturbing conversations with each other about sexually abusing children and the two were also involved in a sexual relationship. In addition, investigators claim the judge was assigned to the fire chief’s criminal case and released him on bail in January despite a request that he be held without bail.
Tremonton Fire Chief Ned Brady Hansen, 54, was charged Tuesday in Brigham City’s 1st District Court with eight counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a first-degree felony. Hansen’s charges were filed a day after 1st District Justice Court Judge Kevin Robert Christensen, 64, was charged with seven felony sex crimes involving children and obstructing justice.
According to court records, the charges against Hansen allege he distributed an explicit video of a 10-year-old girl on at least six occasions and shared an explicit photograph of two 12-year-old girls on at least two other occasions. Christensen is accused of sexually enticing minors via a chat app multiple times.
On Jan. 27, Brigham City police executed a warrant to Hansen’s residence and later booked him into the Box Elder County Jail. Several electronic devices were seized by police for processing at the time.
When Hansen was initially arrested, investigators asked a judge — Christensen — to keep Hansen in custody without the possibility of posting bail.
While looking through Hansen’s electronic devices, police later discovered that he “had an extensive number of chats” with Christensen “that were graphically sexual and involved discussion of sexually abusing children,” according to the arrest affidavit.
In those chats with Christensen, Hansen “expressed interest” in sexually abusing children he knew and offered to “share” them and allow Christensen to sexually abuse them, the affidavit alleges, adding that Christensen “discussed showing (Hansen) pictures of” children he knew and offered to share.
Hansen also “discussed having met with this internet user (Christensen) in real life to engage in sexual acts with this other user,” according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Christensen was charged Monday with two counts of enticing a minor using the internet, one second-degree felony and one third-degree felony; plus two counts of dealing in materials harmful to a minor, three counts of attempted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, and obstruction of justice, all third-degree felonies.
According to the probable cause statement, the judge, who has been placed on unpaid leave, is accused of using a chatting application “to communicate with others about sexually abusing children, sexually exploiting children and enticing children.”
While being questioned by police, Hansen reportedly said “he had a pornography addiction and that over the previous several years he had developed tastes for younger females.”
The fire chief was hired by Tremonton in August 2023. Tremonton City Manager Bill Cobabe confirmed that Hansen was fired Monday after city officials heard of his arrest.
Individuals arrested and charged in complaints are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.