A Johnson County judge on Thursday refused to lower bail — instead raising it to $500,000 — for a 21-year-old man accused of contaminating food at Leawood’s Hereford House and possessing child sex abuse material.
Jace Christian Hanson of Kansas City and his attorney appeared before Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan in Johnson County District Court Thursday afternoon and asked to be released without bail or for a “substantial reduction” in his bond.
Hanson, who was being held in the Johnson County Jail on $100,000 bond, planned to live with his cousin in Ottowa, Kansas, and receive mental health treatment upon his release. His attorney, Sydney Wilson, said he agreed to house arrest or electronic monitoring.
Prosecutors argued against reducing his bond because Hanson’s 10 additional charges of sexual exploitation of a child made him a danger to the public. Hanson is charged with possession of child pornography material of someone under the age of 18. All 33 charges are felonies, according to court documents.
Assistant District Attorney Melinda Parrish’s voice broke as she told the court that in addition to possession, there was evidence of a chat history among Hanson and other users online about wanting to sexually exploit infants and children and called it “shocking to the conscience (and) sadistic behavior.”
Ryan agreed with prosecutors to increase bail to $500,000.
Hanson’s court appearance comes days after prosecutors filed additional charges against him. In an amended complaint filed Tuesday, prosecutors charged Hanson with 22 counts of criminal endangerment for allegedly adulterating or contaminating food between April 1 and April 23, and one count of criminal damage.
At the time of the alleged food contamination, Hanson was a part-time employee of the Hereford House in Leawood’s Town Center Plaza.
According to court documents, Hanson allegedly posted videos online under the name “Vandalizer” that showed a man urinating in restaurant-style food containers and rubbing food on his genitals and buttocks.
After receiving a tip, the FBI linked the videos to Hanson’s cell phone. The FBI contacted Leawood police, who went to the restaurant on April 25 and spoke with a manager.
After the manager confirmed Hanson was at work, they asked Hanson if he was aware of any food contamination.
“I’ll be honest, yes,” Hanson said, according to the affidavit. He added that he had “just done stupid things.”
Hanson, who was arrested and jailed, reportedly told investigators that he started contaminating the food because he didn’t enjoy his job. He was initially charged with one count of criminal threatening while police investigated the crime and made his first court appearance on April 26.
Last week, Leawood police said they had been contacted by more than 380 people who had eaten at the restaurant, including some who became ill afterward.
Customers who ate there and said they became ill with symptoms of food poisoning have filed five lawsuits against the Hereford House Restaurant Company of Kansas, Inc. The lawsuits allege that the restaurant was negligent, violated an implied order that the food was safe and should be held liable for providing a defective product to its customers.
Ryan set Hanson’s next court appearance for 11:15 a.m. on July 10.
