A Utah judge and fire chief, who have both been charged with heinous child sex crimes, allegedly exchanged pedophiliac fantasies and even engaged in a sexual relationship. Nevertheless, the judge still presided over a hearing with the fire chief as a defendant.
The apparent scandal began back in November, when the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received a tip that someone was uploading child sexual abuse material to the messaging app Kik. An investigation into the tip led to the arrest of 54-year-old Ned Brady Hansen, fire chief of Tremonton, Utah, in January.
According to court documents, Hansen admitted that he owned the Kik account in question and that he had stored abusive videos on his phone. "The Defendant stated he had a pornography addiction and that over the previous several years he had developed tastes for (girls)," court documents said.
Hansen was subsequently charged with eight first-degree felony counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. He then appeared in the court of First District Judge Kevin Christensen, 64, in Box Elder County.
Because of the apparent threat Hansen posed to the community, prosecutors requested that he remain in custody without bail. Judge Christensen, however, denied that request, and Hansen was released.
Upon further investigation, an FBI agent determined that Fire Chief Hansen and Judge Christensen were already intimately connected. According to an affidavit, the two men began chatting on Kik about their child-sex fantasies and even described in detail how they might abuse minors, including family members.
"The Defendant [Hansen] had engaged in other chats with a certain other internet user [Christensen]. Defendant had an extensive number of chats with this user that were graphically sexual and involved discussion of sexually abusing children," the affidavit said, according to ABC4.com.
What's more, Hansen and Christensen even allegedly met up in person for a sexual encounter, though it is unclear when that encounter allegedly took place and whether the alleged relationship continued for any length of time.
"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 said.
Last week, Judge Christensen found himself on the wrong side of the law after he was charged with multiple felonies related to child sexual abuse, including enticing a minor, dealing in materials harmful to a minor, and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor.
Back in November, Christensen allegedly engaged in "graphic sexual chats" with an individual he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. He also allegedly sent the individual an explicit video.
Christensen has since been placed on administrative leave. "The Chief Justice has placed Judge Christensen on administrative leave without pay while the investigation and court process continues," said a statement from the Utah State Courts.
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