The former employee who allegedly contaminated food at Hereford House in Leawood is facing dozens of new charges, including charges of possessing child sexual abuse material, court documents show.
In an amended complaint filed late Tuesday afternoon, the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office charged 21-year-old Jace Christian Hanson of Kansas City with 22 counts of allegedly adulterating or contaminating food and one count of criminal damage.
Hanson also faces 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a child for allegedly possessing child sexual abuse material. All charges are felonies, according to court records.
Hanson’s attorney, Dan Miller, said he could not comment on the new charges because he has not received the police reports to compare them to the charges.
The amended charges provide a new timeline for the alleged contamination of food. Prosecutors now allege that the contamination occurred between April 1 and 23. Prosecutors previously alleged that the contamination occurred between March 26 and April 25.
Based on Hanson’s statements to police, Hereford House has reduced the timeline for the alleged tampering to twelve days, roughly between April 6 and 23.
Janson, who is being held in the Johnson County Jail on a $100,000 bond, will appear for a hearing in Johnson County District Court on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Hanson’s attorney has filed a motion requesting that his bond be modified so that he can be released without bail or be granted a “substantial reduction” in bond. If released, Hanson would live with his mother near Casper, Wyoming, and enroll in mental health treatment and follow the therapist or psychiatrist’s recommendations, according to the motion.
Hanson and his attorney promised to appear at all court hearings as ordered by the judge. According to the motion, Hanson agreed to house arrest or electronic monitoring.
New charges alleged
Initially, Hanson was charged on April 26 with just one count of adulterating or contaminating food, raw agricultural products or beverages, which constitutes a criminal endangerment under Kansas law. Days later, Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said the investigation was continuing and would likely lead to additional charges.
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.
Hanson allegedly told investigators he had contaminated food in more than 20 incidents, according to court documents.
In Tuesday’s amended complaint, prosecutors charged Hanson with 22 counts of food contamination. Prosecutors have also charged Hanson with criminal damage for damaging or significantly interfering with the use of Hereford House property. The extent of the damage was between $1,000 and $25,000.
The 10 other new charges allege that on April 25, Hanson possessed child sexual abuse material from someone under the age of 18.
Tip leads to investigation
Authorities became aware of the alleged food contamination after the Federal Bureau of Investigation received a tip.
According to court documents, Hanson, who worked part-time at the restaurant, allegedly posted videos on a website under the name “Vandalizer” that showed a man urinating in restaurant-style food containers and rubbing food on his genitals and buttocks.
The FBI allegedly linked the videos posted online to Hanson’s cell phone and contacted Leawood police on April 25. Detectives went to the restaurant and spoke with the manager.
They then asked Hanson, who was at work, 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 was arrested that afternoon and booked into the Johnson County Jail. He allegedly told investigators he started contaminating food because he initially didn’t like the job, according to court documents.
Since the alleged contamination of the restaurant’s food became public, customers who ate there and then became ill with food poisoning symptoms have filed five lawsuits against Hereford House Restaurant Company of Kansas Inc.
The lawsuits allege that the restaurant was negligent and breached an implied warranty that the food would be safe. They also claimed that the contaminated food was a defective product and that the restaurant should be held liable for serving it to customers.
They are seeking an unspecified amount of damages.
