🔗 Share this article Person confesses to sexual crimes against children at summer camp Jon Ruben admitted 17 criminal counts at Leicester Crown Court on the end of the week A man who contaminated treats with sleeping medication and distributed them to minors at a summer camp in the area has confessed to sexual offenses against two young males who were nine and ten years old. Jon Ruben was detained after eight children and an older person fell ill at Stathern Lodge in July. The senior citizen, from the Nottinghamshire area, confessed to a multiple criminal counts when he appeared at Leicester Crown Court on recently. However, he refused to admit one of the sexual offences he was charged with, which was involving a nine-year-old boy. Ruben was remanded in custody prior to a additional proceeding on 28 November. 'Sweet game' The prosecutor, prosecuting, outlined Ruben's offending to the legal proceedings. She explained his targets were under-privileged children who were participating in a summer camp which he operated. The defendant conducted a "sweet game" with the children, Mrs Prior stated, in which he would go into the sleeping quarters when they were preparing to sleep and request they to consume candy "rapidly". She told the court Ruben had engaged in this activity with the children "over an extended period", and youngsters had earlier experienced illness the following morning. She explained the man had been capable of justifying this for many years as the youngsters being "overexcited from fun", until his family member had suspicions in summer 2025. Mrs Prior KC added: "In the summer" his stepson had suspicions about the situation, with valid cause. "They decided to have a look in the defendant's belongings." The legal counsel stated items including lubricant, Vaseline and injection devices were found, and his stepson notified the law enforcement about his suspicions. She explained the defendant continued to engage in the "sweet game" with six boys that night - that Saturday - and they were all ill the subsequent day. "The police had not gone out by that stage," she added. The regulatory agency, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, had stated that it was investigating the police response of the incident. The legal representative said the children were struggling to walk due to their sickness, so the stepson called the law enforcement a second time. She said Ruben then engaged in the "candy game" in a space of five youngsters.