Kiel man charged with putting objects into Johnsonville Sausage links

A Kiel man has been arrested on charges he put items into Johnsonville sausage links.

Jonathan Tilman Lane appeared in federal court in Milwaukee to face charges of tampering with a consumer product.

Video surveillance on March 25, 2018, shows Lane placing cigarette paper in a sausage link, according to a criminal complaint.

Video surveillance on March 28 shows Lane placing a wire connector in a sausage link, the complaint says.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin says the items were removed from the links before the sausages were packaged.

The complaint states that Lane told his supervisor he found foreign objects with sausage. The supervisor became suspicious and shut down the food line.

Lane later admitted to a third incident. He told investigators that if he lost track of the sausage, he would have "prayed to God" that the machine or a person would have caught it.

"Due to the public risk of Lane's behavior, Johnsonville closed down the operation and discarded all products that they believe could have been affected," reads a press release from the court.

Johnsonville said in a statement that Lane was a contract worker for another company.

Lane is charged with two counts of tampering with a consumer product. If convicted, Lane faces 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

"We commend Johnsonville Sausage, LLC for its security measures and quick action to prevent any harm to consumers," said United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger.