BOX ELDER COUNTY, Utah, March 12, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — Shocking new allegations have surfaced surrounding a child exploitation investigation in Box Elder County.
An affidavit filed Tuesday in the child exploitation case against former Tremonton Fire Chief Ned Brady Hansen, who was fired after files of child pornography were allegedly found in his possession, links him to Box Elder County Justice Court Judge Kevin Christensen, who approved bail for Hansen after his arrest.
Christensen, 64, was arrested February 28, 2025 and charged with six felonies for allegedly soliciting sex online from minors. He has since been placed on unpaid administrative leave.
Court documents claim Christensen and Hansen shared child pornography files over an app, and developed a romantic relationship based on their common illegal interest, according to new court documents.
At the time of Hansen’s bail hearing in January held before Judge Christensen, prosecutors “were unaware of the sexual relationship between defendant and Christensen,” Hansen’s new affidavit says.
“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.”
Hansen’s new affidavit says that on Nov. 21, 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received information about an app user engaged in collecting and sharing child exploitative sexual files. Utah authorities began investigating, and on Jan. 27, they served a search warrant on Hansen’s residence and electronic devices.
“Post-Miranda, defendant (Hansen) agreed to speak with law enforcement. The defendant stated he had a pornography addiction and that over the previous several years he had developed tastes for ‘younger’ females. The defendant explained how he had gone about obtaining CSAM by downloading it from other users.”
Chats also revealed Hansen had shared conversations about his desire to commit sex acts on children, including some of his relatives.
Videos recovered included minors engaged in illegal sex acts.
In the investigation into Christensen’s use of the app, investigators allegedly found sexually graphic conversations between him and two girls, ages 13 and 16, with evidence that graphic photos had been exchanged.
According to the most recent court documents filed, each man is being investigated for the following alleged crimes:
Hansen, 54:
- Eight counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony
Christensen, 64:
- Enticing a minor, sexual activity, a second-degree felony
- Two counts of dealing in materials harmful to a minor, a third-degree felony
- Enticing a minor, felony sexual activity, a third-degree felony
- Two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a third-degree felony
Gephardt Daily will have more information as the cases develop.
