A man who contaminated candy with sleeping medication and distributed them to children at a summer program in Leicestershire has admitted sexual offenses against two children aged nine and ten years old.
The defendant was taken into custody after eight children and a grown-up became sick at the facility in the summer month.
The 76-year-old, from Ruddington in Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to a series of 17 offences when he appeared at the courthouse on recently.
Yet, he refused to admit one of the sexual offences he was charged with, which was against a nine-year-old boy.
The accused was kept in jail before a additional proceeding on 28 November.
'Candy game'
The legal representative, presenting evidence, outlined Ruben's offending to the court.
She said his those affected were children from difficult backgrounds who were attending a youth camp which he ran.
Ruben engaged in a "candy game" with the minors, the legal counsel said, 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 told the court the man had conducted this practice with the boys "for many years", and youngsters had earlier experienced illness the next day.
She explained Ruben had been capable of justifying this repeatedly as the minors being "overexcited from fun", until his stepchild had concerns in recently.
The legal representative stated further: "This year his stepchild had suspicions about the situation, for good reason.
"They decided to examine in the man's possessions."
Mrs Prior KC said items including infant oil, petroleum jelly and syringes were discovered, and his stepchild notified the authorities about his concerns.
She stated the defendant proceeded to conduct the "candy game" with six children that time - Saturday 26 July - and they were everyone unwell the following morning.
"Authorities" had not responded by that time," she added.
The regulatory agency, the investigative body, previously told that it was investigating law enforcement's management of the situation.
Mrs Prior stated the children were having difficulty walking due to their sickness, so Ruben's stepson notified the authorities again.
She stated Ruben then played the "candy game" in a space of five youngsters.
