A man who laced candy with sedative and gave them to minors at a youth camp in the region has confessed to sexual offenses against two children both nine and ten years old.
The accused was taken into custody after eight minors and one adult fell ill at the location in mid-summer.
The elderly man, from Ruddington in Nottinghamshire, admitted guilt to a multiple criminal counts when he appeared at the judicial center on Friday.
Nevertheless, he denied one of the sexual offences he was facing, which was against a young boy.
The defendant was remanded in custody before a further hearing on late November.
'Sweet game'
The legal representative, handling the case, described the defendant's actions to the legal proceedings.
She said his targets were under-privileged children who were attending a summer camp which he ran.
The defendant played a "sweet game" with the minors, the legal counsel explained, in which he would go into the boys' rooms when they were preparing to sleep and tell them to eat sweets "as quickly as they can".
She told the court the defendant had conducted this practice with the children "over an extended period", and children had previously fallen ill the next day.
She stated the man had been capable of justifying this repeatedly as the youngsters being "overexcited from fun", until his stepchild had worries in summer 2025.
Mrs Prior KC stated further: "Recently" his family member had suspicions about the situation, justifiably.
"They chose" to have a look in the individual's items."
The legal counsel stated objects including infant oil, petroleum jelly and syringes were found, and his stepchild notified the police about his suspicions.
She stated the man continued to play the "sweet game" with six boys that night - that Saturday - and they were everyone unwell the subsequent day.
"The police had not arrived by that stage," she continued.
The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, previously told that it was examining Leicestershire Police's handling of the incident.
The prosecutor stated the children were having difficulty walking due to their sickness, so Ruben's stepson contacted the authorities once more.
She stated Ruben then engaged in the "candy game" in a area of five youngsters.
