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A man who contaminated sweets with sleeping medication and gave them to youngsters at a youth camp in Leicestershire has pleaded guilty to sexual offences against two young males who were between nine and ten.

The accused was detained after eight children and one adult experienced illness at the location in mid-summer.

The elderly man, from that region, admitted guilt to a multiple criminal counts when he was present at the judicial center on the end of the week.

Yet, he refused to admit a single sexual charge he was facing, which was against a nine-year-old child.

The accused was kept in jail prior to a further hearing on November 28th.

'Candy game'

The legal representative, handling the case, outlined Ruben's offending to the court.

She stated his those affected were children from difficult backgrounds who were attending a summer program which he ran.

Ruben played a "sweet game" with the youngsters, the legal counsel explained, in which he would go into the children's bedrooms when they were settling down and tell them to ingest treats "as quickly as they can".

She told the court the defendant had conducted this practice with the young males "over an extended period", and minors had previously become sick the subsequent day.

She explained the man had been able to explain this repeatedly as the minors being "overexcited from fun", until his family member had suspicions in recently.

The prosecutor added: "Recently" his family member had worries about the situation, for good reason.

"They decided to examine in the individual's items."

Mrs Prior KC explained items including lubricant, Vaseline and syringes were discovered, and his stepchild notified the law enforcement about his suspicions.

She stated Ruben went on to play the "treat game" with six children that time - that Saturday - and they were all sick the next day.

"The police had not responded by that stage," she continued.

The police watchdog, the police conduct office, earlier informed that it was reviewing Leicestershire Police's handling of the incident.

Mrs Prior stated the children were having difficulty walking due to their sickness, so the family member called the law enforcement a second time.

She explained Ruben then played the "sweet game" in a space of five youngsters.