Box Elder County judge accused of multiple child sex crimes

BOX ELDER COUNTY, Utah (KUTV) — Kevin Christensen, a First District Justice Court Judge, is facing charges for multiple child sex crimes.

He was immediately placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Christensen, 64, was arrested on suspicion of enticing a minor in sexual activity, a second-degree felony; enticing a minor in sexual activity, a third-degree felony; two counts of dealing in materials harmful to a minor, both third-degree felonies; and two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, both third-degree felonies.

On Feb. 28, investigators working on the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force became aware of an individual in Box Elder County using an app to communicate with others about sexually abusing, sexually exploiting, and enticing children, the affidavit states.

Christensen was allegedly chatting with and sending explicit photos to several children.

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In chats with adults, the affidavit states Christensen expressed interest in young children and solicited child sexual abuse material from those users.

He is accused of distributing child sexual abuse material as well.

"These actions show [Christensen] is a clear danger to the community," the affidavit states.

The affidavit states that during chats with users, Christensen made multiple references to having sexually abused relative children. Those allegations are under investigation.

Because Christensen is a sitting court judge, "he is a greater danger to flee to avoid prosecution," the affidavit states. "The position of trust he holds in the community and the actions he undertook while in this position significantly undermine the confidence of the community in the legitimacy of the criminal justice system."

Christensen was appointed to the Box Elder County Justice Court in May 1996. He served in Box Elder County, Tremonton City, Brigham City, Garland City, and Willard City.

As part of his job, Christensen often spoke to various youth and civic groups about the structure and function of the court system.

Box Elder County provided the following statement:

"Box Elder County was notified that Kevin Christensen was taken into custody by the FBI on March 6, 2025. Per Box Elder County policy, Mr. Christensen was immediately placed on administrative leave pending investigation.

The Supreme Court of Utah has also officially placed Mr. Christensen on administrative leave without pay as of March 7, 2025. The State of Utah Judicial Conduct Commission (JCC) performs investigations into allegations against sitting judges.

As a result, Box Elder County will defer to the JCC on the administrative investigation. Because the criminal and administrative investigations are ongoing and being handled by outside agencies, Box Elder County has no further information to share at this time."

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