A hands-free dispenser for dispensing lengths of absorbent sheet products, includes: a dispenser body containing a dispensing mechanism; a hand sensor for detecting the presence of a user's hand in the vicinity of the dispenser; an elongated metallic conductive element having a proximate end in electrical communication with at least one metal surface of the dispenser positioned at a first location relative to the hand sensor, and a distal end in electrical communication with at least one charge receiver positioned at a second location relative to the hand sensor, the second location being at a greater distance from the hand sensor than the first location.