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.”