Man appears in court charged with offences related to children feeling unwell at summer camp
A 76-year-old man appeared in court this morning (Saturday) charged with offences related to children being taken to hospital after feeling unwell at a summer camp at Stathern.
Jon Ruben, of Landmere Lane, Ruddington, Nottingham, is accused of three counts of wilful ill treatment of a child, between July 25 and 29, by lacing sweets with sedatives.
No plea was given by Mr Ruben when he appeared in the dock at Leicester Magistrates Court.
The charges relate to three different children at the summer camp, at Stathern Lodge, in Canal Lane.
Emergency services attended the scene and eight children – all boys aged between eight and 11 – were taken to hospital as a precaution.
An adult was also taken to hospital. All have since been discharged.
Mr Ruben was remanded into custody and will appear at Leicester Crown Court on Friday August 29.
Police have pointed out that the owners and operators of Stathern Lodge are independent from those people who use or hire the lodge and are not connected to the incident.
This is an active criminal investigation and officers ask the public to not speculate further about the incident, particularly on social media platforms.
Janine McKinney, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS East Midlands, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised the prosecution of a 76-year-old man with child cruelty offences following a police investigation into a summer camp held at Stathern Lodge, Leicestershire.
"This decision has been made after reviewing a file of evidence from Leicestershire Police.
“This has been an extremely upsetting and shocking moment for the community, and especially for the children and parents most directly affected.
“We would like to remind all concerned that there are now active criminal proceedings against Mr Ruben, and he has the right to a fair trial. There must be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online that may in any way prejudice these proceedings."
The public portal is available at: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/33EM25I63-PO1 for anyone who has been affected by this investigation or might wish to contact the force about what has happened.
Due to the circumstances of the initial police response, Leicestershire Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).