An individual who contaminated candy with sleeping medication and provided them to children at a youth camp in Leicestershire has admitted sexual crimes against two young males aged nine and ten years old.
Jon Ruben was arrested after eight children and one adult fell ill at Stathern Lodge in July.
The 76-year-old, from that region, admitted guilt to a multiple criminal counts when he stood at the judicial center on Friday.
Yet, he refused to admit a single sexual charge he was facing, which was concerning a young boy.
Ruben was held in detention before a subsequent court date on late November.
'Sweet game'
The legal representative, handling the case, described the defendant's actions to the legal proceedings.
She said his targets were under-privileged children who were attending a summer camp which he ran.
Ruben conducted a "treat game" with the children, the legal counsel said, in which he would go into the boys' rooms when they were getting ready for bed and tell them to ingest treats "as quickly as they can".
She stated to the judge Ruben had played this game with the young males "for many years", and children had previously become sick the subsequent day.
She said Ruben had been capable of justifying this over a long period as the minors being "overwrought by enjoyment", until his stepchild had worries in July 2025.
The prosecutor stated further: "Recently" his stepson had worries about the situation, for good reason.
"They decided to examine in the defendant's belongings."
The prosecutor said items including lubricant, ointment and syringes were discovered, and his stepchild contacted the authorities about his concerns.
She explained Ruben proceeded to conduct the "treat game" with six boys that time - that Saturday - and they were all sick the next day.
"Law enforcement" had not arrived by that time," she stated further.
The oversight body, the investigative body, previously told that it was investigating the police response of the incident.
The prosecutor stated the children were struggling to walk due to their condition, so the stepson called the authorities a second time.
She said the defendant then conducted the "candy game" in a space of five children.
