Former QualServ CEO faces federal child porn charges

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A federal grand jury has charged the former top executive of a food service equipment company with two counts of receiving and possessing child pornography.

The federal indictment returned Wednesday replaces similar state charges filed in November against Ronald E. Elmquist, 61, former president and chief executive officer of QualServ Corp., one of the nation's largest manufacturers and distributors of kitchen equipment and tableware. The company is based in North Kansas City, with additional plants in Fort Smith, Ark.; Columbia, S.C.; and Nashville.

Elmquist, who lives in Dallas, has pleaded not guilty to the state charges. His lawyer, James Wyrsch, said Elmquist will continue to fight the charges.

"Mr. Elmquist plans to plead not guilty and vigorously defend himself," Wyrsch said.

If convicted, Elmquist would face at least five years in federal prison.

Elmquist was placed on administrative leave by QualServ, where he became president and CEO in October 2005. He no longer has any role at QualServ, Wyrsch said. He also resigned from the board of RadioShack Corp.

Authorities say a QualServ technician found images of teenage and prepubescent girls on Elmquist's company-issued laptop computer after Elmquist complained about pop-up ads and spyware. The technician, who alerted police to the images, said no one else used the computer, according to court documents.

Among the images was a video of a 14-year-old girl performing a strip tease and a sex act, and pictures of other nude girls engaged in various sexual acts, according to court documents.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com