OGDEN, Utah — The former Box Elder County judge who pleaded guilty earlier to multiple child sex crimes committed while he was entrusted to oversee justice from the bench was sentenced to three prison terms of 0-5 years, covering all the charges against him.
Kevin Christensen appeared at his sentencing hearing on Monday, over two months after he accepted a plea deal to one charge of Enticing a Minor Using the Internet and two charges of Dealing in Materials Harmful to a Minor.
The prison sentence handed down was one that even delighted the former judge's own family.
"I don't know really how to put it into words, but I feel like we got some type of justice today," said Christensen's adopted daughter, Kenzie.
While speaking at the hearing, Christensen appeared to be weeping as he spoke to Judge Catherine Conklin, saying, "I really messed up."
"I've had a lot of time to reflect and think about the things I've done, and the pain and damage I've caused," he said. "The sorrow I feel is truly beyond words. It's not me feeling sorry for myself, it's feeling sorrow for those I've hurt and betrayed.
"I'm so sorry for the hurt I've caused any victims or potential victims out there."
Watch full statement from Kevin Christensen in video below:
The 65-year-old Christensen was arrested following an investigation that allegedly showed he had distributed and received child sex abuse material online.
During its investigation, the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force recovered a chat from Christensen's online account in which he believed he was speaking with a 13-year-old girl and engaged in sexually graphic conversation, and also sent a video of an adult male performing a sexual act.
"I had no idea... nobody had any idea," said Kenzie after the hearing. "There were no signs, there was nothing. "It just completely came out of the blue."
Prosecutor Austin Memmott spoke at length about the people who were victims of Christensen, following defense attorney Ryan Bushell, who argued that the state couldn't give evidence that a minor had been victimized personally by Christensen.
"The 8-year-old girl from church whose images are now in the hands of pedophiles... were victimized by Kevin Christensen," said Memmott.
Judge Conklin refused to consider time served and therapy for Christensen, sharing how he has previously refused to accept full responsibility for his actions. She also denied the recommendation agreed to in the plea deal that the former judge's sentences would be served concurrently.
“Chats show us who Mr. Christensen truly is when he is home and thinks no one is watching," said Conklin.
Box Elder judge and fire chief shared child porn, fantasies of molestation with each other:
Conklin also pushed back against the defense, claiming that Christensen's former position as a judge had no impact on the sentencing.
"I disagree with Mr. Bushell that the prior position in authority in the community is not a significant aggravating factor that the court has to consider," she said. "Judges are to be beyond reproach. Both on the bench and off.
"Judges are not above the law."
Christensen's sentences will now be served consecutively, meaning he will possibly spend up to 15 years in prison.
"We wanted prison time, and that's what we got," said Kenzie.
All the charges against Christensen are third-degree felonies, and his change in plea came nearly a full year after Christensen was originally charged with 8 crimes, to which he pleaded not guilty in July 2025.
The plea deal allowed for some of the charges against Christensen to be dropped.
Christensen was arrested at around the same time as former Tremonton Fire Chief Ned Brady Hansen, who was charged with similar crimes. Both men allegedly shared child pornography and discussed fantasies of abusing children together, while also engaging in a sexual relationship.
