Prosecutors say kids at a camp were sickened by sedatives in candy. A 76-year-old has been charged
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/08/2025 (402 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
LONDON (AP) — A 76-year-old man appeared in a court in central England on Saturday to face child cruelty charges after several boys at a summer camp were sickened by what prosecutors say was candy laced with sedatives.
Jon Ruben was ordered detained until a hearing on Aug. 29. He did not enter a plea during the brief hearing at Leicester Magistrates’ Court.
Police say they received a report on Sunday that children had fallen sick at Stathern Lodge, a converted farmhouse with a sports hall and catering facilities about 120 miles (190 kilometers) north of London.
Eight boys between 8 and 11 and one adult were taken to a hospital as a precaution. All were later discharged.
Ruben was arrested on Monday at a pub near the lodge.
Ruben, whose home address is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the lodge, faces three charges of “wilfully assaulting, ill-treating, neglecting, abandoning or exposing children in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to health,” relating to three boys at the camp.
The lodge is owned by Braithwaite Gospel Trust, a Christian charity. Police stressed that the owners “are independent from those people who use or hire the lodge and are not connected to the incident.”