A man who laced sweets with tranquilliser and gave them to children at a youth camp in Leicestershire has admitted sexual offences against two children aged between nine and ten.
The defendant was detained after eight minors and a grown-up fell ill at the location in the summer month.
The elderly man, from Ruddington in Nottinghamshire, confessed to a series of 17 offences when he was present at the judicial center on the end of the week.
Yet, he disputed one particular crime he was accused of, which was concerning a nine-year-old child.
Ruben was held in detention before a further hearing on late November.
'Treat game'
The legal representative, handling the case, detailed the defendant's actions to the judicial body.
She stated his victims were under-privileged children who were attending a summer program which he ran.
The defendant played a "sweet game" with the children, the legal counsel explained, in which he would go into the sleeping quarters when they were settling down and tell them to ingest treats "as fast as possible".
She informed the proceedings the defendant had played this game with the boys "over an extended period", and minors had previously become sick the subsequent day.
She said the defendant had been capable of justifying this for many years as the children being "overexcited from fun", until his stepchild had worries in summer 2025.
The prosecutor stated further: "In the summer" his family member had worries about the activities, justifiably.
"They decided to have a look in the individual's items."
Mrs Prior KC stated materials including infant oil, Vaseline and injection devices were discovered, and his family member notified the authorities about his concerns.
She said the defendant continued to play the "candy game" with six youngsters that evening - July 26th - and they were all sick the following morning.
"The police had not arrived by that stage," she added.
The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, earlier informed that it was examining Leicestershire Police's handling of the incident.
Mrs Prior explained the children were struggling to walk due to being ill, so the stepson notified the authorities once more.
She said the man then played the "sweet game" in a room of five youngsters.
