But it turns out that the employee, Brian Scott Hansen, was the butt of a joke played on him by the boys, his defense attorney said Friday in 3rd District Court.

Hansen, 49, of West Valley City, believed he had genuine photos of the four boys, and even taped them to his bedroom wall with their names written on the backs.

But defense attorney Steven Shapiro said the pictures were cut and pasted from the Internet, and that the boys never took any pictures of themselves.

"They laughed the whole time about the joke they played on Brian," Shapiro told Judge Vernice Trease, adding that he felt Hansen - who has "functional limitations" - was "taken advantage of" by the boys.

Prosecutor Kim Cordova agreed the "facts had been blown out of proportion," but said Hansen's conduct was still concerning.

Trease told Hansen he had shown "a very extreme lapse of judgment."

But based on recommendations from both attorneys and a pre-sentence report, the judge imposed no jail time. She sentenced Hansen to 24 months probation and ordered 90 days home confinement, 100 hours community service and sex-offender treatment.

Hansen was initially charged with four counts of third-degree felony solicitation to commit sexual exploitation of a minor, each punishable by up to five years in prison, and one count of supplying alcohol to a minor, a class A misdemeanor.

He pleaded guilty in September to one class A misdemeanor count of dealing in harmful material to a minor.

Shapiro insisted the teens who duped Hansen "deserved to be chastised like nobody's business."

The boys - popular sports figures at the school - wanted something from Hansen, and Hansen was anxious to be included in what "the cool kids were doing," Shapiro said.

The photos-for-beer exchange occurred between January 2007 and May 16, 2008, according to charging documents.

Shapiro said the case came to light when the boys were caught smoking pot in a shed, said Shapiro. When sheriff's deputies asked the boys, "What can you give us?" they offered up Hansen, Shapiro said.

Hansen has been a regular at Brighton High School school sports activities for decades.

More recently, he worked as a temporary employee, occasionally helping at sporting events and running the clock at games, a Jordan School District spokeswoman previously told The Tribune.

He was hired in September 2006 after passing a background check, according to the school district.

shunt@sltrib.com