An individual who laced sweets with tranquilliser and provided them to youngsters at a summer camp in Leicestershire has confessed to sexual crimes against two children both between nine and ten.
The defendant was arrested after eight youngsters and a grown-up became sick at Stathern Lodge in mid-summer.
The senior citizen, from Ruddington in Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to a series of 17 offences when he appeared at the courthouse on Friday.
However, he refused to admit one of the sexual offences he was accused of, which was against a nine-year-old boy.
Ruben was held in detention before a additional proceeding on November 28th.
'Candy game'
The prosecutor, prosecuting, described Ruben's offending to the legal proceedings.
She said his those affected were children from difficult backgrounds who were staying at a summer program which he ran.
The defendant engaged in a "candy game" with the youngsters, the prosecutor stated, in which he would enter the children's bedrooms when they were preparing to sleep and request they to eat sweets "as quickly as they can".
She told the court the man had engaged in this activity with the young males "repeatedly", and youngsters had previously become sick the subsequent day.
She stated the man had been capable of justifying this over a long period as the minors being "overexcited from fun", until his stepchild had suspicions in July 2025.
Mrs Prior KC added: "In the summer" his stepchild had worries about the activities, for good reason.
"They chose" to have a look in the individual's items."
Mrs Prior KC said materials including infant oil, Vaseline and medical needles were found, and his stepson notified the law enforcement about his suspicions.
She said Ruben proceeded to conduct the "sweet game" with six children that time - Saturday 26 July - and they were all ill the subsequent day.
"The police had not arrived by that time," she stated further.
The regulatory agency, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, had stated that it was investigating law enforcement's management of the events.
Mrs Prior said the children were having difficulty walking due to their condition, so Ruben's stepson notified the law enforcement again.
She said the man then played the "treat game" in a room of five youngsters.
