Tremonton fire chief and Box Elder judge discussed sexually exploiting minors, according to charging docs

SALT LAKE CITY — Two Box Elder County officials are being accused of sexually enticing minors while being in their own relationship, court documents stated.

On Monday, the Tremonton fire chief Ned Brady Hansen, 54, was charged with eight first-degree felony counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor in the 1st District Court.

In November, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received a tip that an account on the internet-based chatting application KIK was sharing videos and images of child sex abuse material on the platform, according to the police affidavit.

This investigation led to Hansen’s arrest in January. According to court documents, he admitted to police that he saved the videos on his phone and owned the account associated with the tip.

“The Defendant stated he had a pornography addiction and that over the previous several years he had developed tastes for (girls),” court documents stated.

While searching Hansen’s electronic devices, investigators found multiple chats with another person, which was discovered to be Kevin Robert Christensen, 64, a Box Elder County judge.

According to court documents, Hansen and Christensen spoke about how they could sexually abuse children, including extended family members of one of the men.

Eventually, the two discussed meeting up in person and engaged in a sexual relationship, documents stated.

According to court documents, Christensen was the judge who preceded Hansen’s bail and released him despite law enforcement’s request to hold Hansen without bail. 

“Christensen did not disclose that he had engaged in sexually charged chats regarding children with defendant Hansen and law enforcement believes that this fact materially affected the decision making of Christensen at the time he released Hansen,” court documents stated.

According to court documents, this prompted an investigation into Christensen, and investigators discovered the two’s relationship.

On Monday, Christensen was also charged in the 1st District Court with two counts of enticing a minor using the internet, one second-degree felony and one third-degree felony, two counts of dealing in materials harmful to a minor, three counts of attempted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, and obstruction of justice, third-degree felonies, according to court documents.

A Spokesperson for Utah State Courts said Friday that Christensen had resigned on March 10.

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Child abuse resources:

• Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online: udvc.org. The statewide child abuse and neglect hotline is 1-855-323-DCFS (3237).

Help with Children

Those who feel stressed out with a child, who need a break or who feel like they need counseling or training can reach out to one of the following agencies:

• The Family Support Center has 15 locations throughout the state and offers a free crisis nursery for parents who have to keep appointments or who are stressed out. They also offer counseling and family mentoring. Call 801-955-9110 or visit familysupportcenter.org/contact.php for more information.
• Prevent Child Abuse Utah provides home visiting in Weber, Davis, and Box Elder counties. Parent Educators provide support, education, and activities for families with young children. Their statewide education team offers diverse trainings on protective factors, digital safety, bullying, and child sex trafficking. They are available for in-person or virtual trainings and offer free online courses for the community at pcautah.org.
• The Office of Home Visiting works with local agencies to provide home visits to pregnant women and young families who would like to know more about being parents. Home visitors are trained and can provide information about breastfeeding, developmental milestones, toilet training, nutrition, mental health, home safety, child development, and much more. Find out more at homevisiting.utah.gov.
• The Safe Haven law allows birth parents in Utah to safely and anonymously give up custody of their newborn child at any hospital in the state, with no legal consequences and no questions asked. The child’s mother can drop off the child, or the mother can ask someone else to do it for her. The newborns should be dropped off at hospitals that are open 24 hours a day. Newborns given up in this manner will be cared for by the hospital staff, and the Utah Division of Child and Family Services will find a home for the child. For more information, visit utahsafehaven.org or call the 24-hour hotline at 866-458-0058.

CSAM Prevention Resources and Victim Recovery: 

• The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children provides support to children who are victims of child sexual exploitation through emotional peer support for families, content removal of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and help getting connected to therapists and attorneys. The NCMEC also provides a CyberTipline where CSAM can be reported. Visit https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/csam-resources for more information. 
• The Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force hosts a hub of resources for parents and offers local help to cases involving child sexual exploitation. 
• RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) provides a guide of safety measures to take in order to prevent children from being targeted in CSAM cases. 
• Thorn nonprofit organization creates products and programs that combat child sexual abuse at scale. It provides resources for families to help them identify the possible ways children can be exploited online, giving them proper terminology and statistics to keep them educated. For more information, visit https://www.thorn.org/research/child-sexual-abuse-material-csam/ 
• Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online: udvc.org. The statewide child abuse and neglect hotline is 1-855-323-DCFS (3237).