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The former employee who allegedly contaminated food at the Hereford House
in Leawood is facing dozens of new charges, including allegations of
possessing child sex abuse materials, according to court documents. In an amended complaint filed late Tuesday afternoon, the Johnson County
District Attorney�s Office has charged 21-year-old Jace Christian Hanson
of Kansas City with 22 counts of criminal threat for 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 materials. All of the charges are felonies, according to the court documents. Hanson�s attorney, Dan Miller,
said he was unable to comment about the new charges because he has not
received the police reports to compare them to the charges. The amended
charges give a new timeline for the alleged contamination of food.

Prosecutors now allege the contamination took place between April 1 and
23. Previously, prosecutors alleged that the contamination occurred
between March 26 and April 25. Based on Hanson�s statements to police,
Hereford House narrowed the timeline for the alleged tampering to 12 days, roughly between April 6 and 23. Janson, who is being held in Johnson
County jail on a $100,000 bond, is scheduled to appear in Johnson County District Court for a hearing at 4 p.m. Thursday. Hanson�s attorney has
filed a motion asking that his bond be modified so that he could be
released without bail or be granted a �substantial reduction� in bond.

If released, Hanson would live with his mother near Casper, Wyoming, and
would 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 appearances as ordered by the
judge. Hanson is agreeable to house arrest or electronic monitoring,
according to the motion. NEW CHARGES ALLEGED Initially, on April 26,
Hanson was charged with only one count of adulterating or contaminating
any food, raw agricultural commodity or beverage, which, under Kansas law,
is a criminal threat. Days later, Johnson County District Attorney Steve
Howe said the investigation was continuing and would probably 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 fell ill
afterward. Hanson allegedly told detectives that he contaminated food in
more than 20 incidents, according to court documents.

In Tuesday�s amended complaint, prosecutors charged Hanson with 22 counts
of contaminating food. Prosecutors also charged Hanson with one count of criminal damage for damaging or substantially impairing the use of
Hereford House�s 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 materials of someone under the age of 18
years old.

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 bins and rubbing food on his genitals
and buttocks.

The FBI allegedly tied the videos posted online to Hanson�s cellphone and contacted Leawood police on April 25. Detectives went to the restaurant
and spoke with the manager. They then asked Hanson, who was working, if he
knew of any food contamination. �I�ll just be straight up, yeah,� Hanson
said, according to the affidavit.

He added that he�d �just been doing stupid s--t.� Hanson was arrested that afternoon and booked into Johnson County jail. According to court
documents, he allegedly told investigators that he started contaminating
food because he didn�t enjoy the job at first. Since the alleged
contamination of the restaurant�s food became public, customers who ate
there and fell ill with food poisoning symptoms afterward have filed five lawsuits against Hereford House Restaurant Company of Kansas Inc.

The lawsuits contend that the restaurant was negligent and breached an
implied warranty that its food would be safe. They also asserted a strict liability claim that the contaminated food was a defective product and the restaurant should be held liable for serving it to customers. They seek an unspecified amount in damages. This story was originally published June 5, 2024, 10:11 AM.https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article289024579.html

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