Police called it one of the most troubling cases of sex abuse they had ever seen.
Five adult and five juvenile members of the same family, ranging in age from 11 to 60, involved in what investigators described as three generations of sex abuse, were arrested more than a year ago in Taylorsville.
Police believe the abuse went on for 30 years, spreading through family generations. Many of those charged were victims of abuse themselves.
In September, the grandmother of the family, Bente Hansen, now 59, the first to go to a jury trial, was found not guilty on two counts of sodomy of a child and two counts of aggravated sex abuse of a child.
It was a big blow to police and prosecutors, who were concerned about how the ruling might affect cases against the remaining family members.
Since that acquittal, however, there have been several convictions.
In February, the patriarch of the family and the man prosecutors said they were most concerned about, 61-year-old Paul Hansen, pleaded guilty to amended charges of four counts of sex abuse of a child, all third-degree felonies, according to court records. Monday, Judge Robert Adkins in West Jordan's 3rd District Court ordered Paul Hansen to the Utah State Prison to undergo a 60-day diagnostic evaluation before being sentenced.
As part of the plea deal, Paul Hansen's sentence on each count will run consecutively. He is expected to receive a minimum 10 years when sentenced in August.
Tuesday, Rose Hansen, 30, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of one count of incest. She originally faced eight first-degree felonies. She also is scheduled to be sentenced in August. Rose Hansen and her attorney declined comment leaving the courtroom Tuesday, saying they may make a statement after sentencing.
In February, Arnold Hansen, 36, pleaded no contest to a similar reduced charged of incest. He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.
In March, an arrest warrant was issued for 35-year-old Tammy Hansen, the fifth adult police believe was involved in the sex abuse ring, when she failed to show up for court. She faces four counts of sex abuse of a child.
Mike Christensen, who recently retired from the Salt Lake District Attorney's Office, was the lead prosecutor in all the Hansen cases and worked out the plea deals before his retirement.
The most important part of the whole situation, he said, is that the children are out of the home and have now been through a couple of years of therapy. In some cases, the children have already been adopted to good homes. In that respect, despite Bente Hansen's acquittal, Christensen said his office had "won the war."
"It's good to get this case behind. We have seven or eight grandkids that really need to heal," he said. "They're smart kids. They just need a chance by getting this all behind them."
Christensen can't say specifically why Bente Hansen was acquitted and why prosecutors were able to get guilty or no-contest pleas from the others.
"It's hard to say what the difference was," he said.
The parents of the juveniles needed to be punished for what they did, Christensen said. But just as important is they will now receive sex offender treatment so they can one day be a productive part of society.
There were no indications during the course of the investigation that anyone outside the Hansen family was abused, he said.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com