BRIGHAM CITY, Utah March 8, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — A veteran Box Elder County judge has been jailed over allegations of child sexual abuse.
Kevin Christensen, 64, appointed Box Elder County’s Justice Court Judge in 1996, was booked into the Davis County Jail on suspicion of six felonies involving alleged soliciting sex online from minors.
His arrest came after an investigation started Feb. 28 by the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, according to charging documents. Detectives became aware of someone in Box Elder County using the internet chatting application KIK to “communicate with others about sexually abusing children, sexually exploiting children and enticing children.”
The user of the account was identified as Christensen, according to a probable cause statement written by the West Valley City task force officer who arrested the judge. “Multiple chat threads of interest were found.”
The charging documents include graphic details of chats alleged between the judge and a 13-year-old girl on Nov. 2, 2024, and a 16-year-old girl on Sept. 2, 2024. Amid language typical of a porno flick, explicit photos are exchanged and in one case a video was sent, allegedly by Christensen, according to the affidavit.
“At this time, there is extensive evidence suggesting that the defendant has communicated with multiple underage people online.” In other chats with adults online, Christensen “expresses sexual interest in young children and solicits CSAM (child sexual abuse material) from these people,” according to the allegations, which include distributing CSAM over the internet.
Christensen has in chats also made references to having sexually abused children, the investigator wrote. “Those allegations are under investigation.”
The Box Elder Justice Court is part of Utah’s First Judicial District, so Christensen also is the justice court judge for Brigham City, Tremonton, Garland and Willard. The presiding judge for the First District, Brian Cannell, on Friday ordered Christensen be held without bail.
He currently faces charges of enticing a minor in first-degree felony sexual activity, a second-degree felony; enticing a minor in second-degree felony sexual activity, a third-degree felony; and two counts each of dealing in materials harmful to a minor and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, all third-degree felonies.
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