A man who spiked sweets with sleeping medication and distributed them to youngsters at a summer program in Leicestershire has admitted sexual crimes against two boys aged nine and ten years old.
The accused was arrested after eight children and an older person fell ill at the facility in mid-summer.
The 76-year-old, from Ruddington in Nottinghamshire, confessed to a multiple criminal counts when he stood at Leicester Crown Court on recently.
Nevertheless, he refused to admit one of the sexual offences he was accused of, which was against a nine-year-old boy.
The defendant was held in detention ahead of a subsequent court date on late November.
'Treat game'
Mary Prior KC, prosecuting, outlined the criminal behavior to the legal proceedings.
She said his targets were under-privileged children who were staying at a youth camp which he managed.
The defendant engaged in a "treat game" with the minors, the legal counsel stated, in which he would access the children's bedrooms when they were settling down and request they to ingest treats "rapidly".
She told the court the defendant had played this game with the young males "for many years", and youngsters had previously fallen ill the next day.
She stated Ruben had been capable of justifying this repeatedly as the minors being "overstimulated by activities", until his stepchild had suspicions in July 2025.
The prosecutor added: "Recently" his family member had suspicions about what was going on, for good reason.
"They resolved" to examine in the individual's items."
The prosecutor said objects including lubricant, petroleum jelly and injection devices were discovered, and his stepson alerted the authorities about his concerns.
She said the defendant continued to engage in the "treat game" with six boys that time - that Saturday - and they were all ill the next day.
"Law enforcement" had not responded by that point," she continued.
The regulatory agency, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, had stated that it was reviewing law enforcement's management of the incident.
Mrs Prior stated the youngsters were struggling to walk due to being ill, so the stepson notified the law enforcement a second time.
She explained the man then played the "treat game" in a area of five children.
