A man who contaminated treats with sedative and distributed them to minors at a youth camp in the area has pleaded guilty to sexual offences against two boys aged nine and ten years old.
The accused was detained after eight children and a grown-up experienced illness at Stathern Lodge in mid-summer.
The senior citizen, from Ruddington in Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to a total of 17 charges when he was present at the courthouse on recently.
Nevertheless, he disputed one particular crime he was facing, which was concerning a nine-year-old boy.
The defendant was held in detention prior to a subsequent court date on November 28th.
'Treat game'
The prosecutor, prosecuting, outlined the criminal behavior to the court.
She said his targets were children from difficult backgrounds who were attending a summer program which he ran.
Ruben conducted a "sweet game" with the youngsters, the legal counsel explained, in which he would go into the boys' rooms when they were preparing to sleep and ask them to ingest treats "as fast as possible".
She told the court Ruben had played this game with the young males "over an extended period", and minors had previously become sick the next day.
She explained Ruben had been successful in rationalizing this for many years as the children being "overexcited from fun", until his stepchild had concerns in summer 2025.
Mrs Prior KC continued: "This year his family member had suspicions about the activities, justifiably.
"They decided to investigate in the man's possessions."
Mrs Prior KC stated objects including lubricant, Vaseline and medical needles were found, and his stepchild alerted the authorities about his concerns.
She said Ruben continued to conduct the "sweet game" with six youngsters that time - Saturday 26 July - and they were everyone unwell the subsequent day.
"Law enforcement" had not gone out by that point," she added.
The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, earlier informed that it was investigating Leicestershire Police's handling of the situation.
The prosecutor explained the youngsters were having difficulty walking due to their sickness, so Ruben's stepson notified the law enforcement again.
She stated Ruben then conducted the "candy game" in a room of five children.
