A former Hereford House employee accused of contaminating food and posting about it online, has pleaded not guilty to 33 felony charges.
On Tuesday, Jace Hanson, 22, appeared in Johnson County District Court to waive his preliminary hearing and enter 33 not guilty pleas. Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan is the presiding judge.
Hanson faces 22 counts of making a criminal threat related to allegedly contaminating food at the steakhouse’s now-shuttered Leawood location.
In addition, he faces 10 child sexual exploitation charges for allegedly possessing child sexual abuse materials and one count for criminal damage.
Hanson was originally charged in April after Leawood Police received an outside tip that food at the restaurant at 5001 Town Center Dr., on the north side of the Town Center Plaza shopping complex, had been intentionally contaminated.
Hanson allegedly contaminated food that was served
Working in the kitchen from March 26 to April 23, Hanson allegedly urinated and rubbed his genitals on food at Hereford House and posted videos of himself doing so online.
According to a criminal affidavit, Hanson admitted to the acts to investigators, saying he did so at the request of men he had met online through apps like Grindr and Sniffy’s who wanted Hanson to make videos of him contaminating food.
“When asked if he was aware of any food contamination, Hanson stated, ‘I’ll just be straight up, yeah,’” the affidavit says. “Hanson added that he’s ‘just been doing stupid (expletive).’”
Hanson told investigators he contaminated food roughly 20 times in April, with the first occurrence coming about a week and a half after he first started working at Hereford House in the last week of March, according to the criminal affidavit.
On May 15, Leawood Police said that test results for Hanson came back indicating “no ongoing risk to patrons” for diseases.
The restaurant faces a litany of lawsuits
Since the news about the contamination broke, more than 60 customers have filed 32 lawsuits against the Hereford House Restaurant Company of Kansas Inc., claiming they became ill after eating at the Leawood location during the time Hanson worked there.
The lawsuits claim negligence by Hereford House for selling tainted food to its customers when it was assumed to be safe to eat.
In response, Hereford House has denied negligence, stating in court documents that Hanson was acting outside of the scope of his employment and the restaurant was unaware of contaminated food until his arrest.
The Leawood location closed in August
In August, Hereford House announced it would be closing the Leawood location amid “financial strains” created by the legal fallout of the food contamination case.
The restaurant’s closure sent waves of sadness and anger through the Leawood business community.
“I just hate that the bad acts of one person … potentially has had this ripple effect. It’s just the worst kind of ripple effect,” Leawood City Councilmember Lisa Harrison said in a previous interview. “It just makes me sad and mad at the same time. I wish that person could be held accountable for all the lives that have been really disrupted in a negative way.”
What’s next
Hanson’s next hearing is scheduling conference set for 10 a.m. on Dec. 6.
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