A person who spiked sweets with sleeping medication and provided them to youngsters at a youth camp in the area has pleaded guilty to sexual offences against two young males aged nine and ten years old.
Jon Ruben was detained after eight children and a grown-up became sick at Stathern Lodge in the summer month.
The senior citizen, from the Nottinghamshire area, confessed to a total of 17 charges when he stood at Leicester Crown Court on the end of the week.
However, he refused to admit one of the sexual offences he was facing, which was involving a nine-year-old boy.
The defendant was held in detention before a subsequent court date on late November.
'Candy game'
The prosecutor, prosecuting, outlined Ruben's offending to the court.
She said his those affected were children from difficult backgrounds who were staying at a youth camp which he operated.
Ruben engaged in a "treat game" with the children, the prosecutor said, in which he would go into the children's bedrooms when they were getting ready for bed and ask them to eat sweets "as quickly as they can".
She told the court Ruben had played this game with the young males "for many years", and children had earlier experienced illness the subsequent day.
She stated Ruben had been able to explain this over a long period as the children being "overexcited from fun", until his stepson had worries in summer 2025.
The legal representative stated further: "This year his stepchild had suspicions about what was going on, with valid cause.
"They chose" to investigate in the man's possessions."
The prosecutor said objects including infant oil, ointment and injection devices were located, and his stepchild notified the law enforcement about his suspicions.
She explained the man went on to engage in the "sweet game" with six boys that evening - that Saturday - and they were all ill the next day.
"Authorities" had not gone out by that stage," she added.
The regulatory agency, the investigative body, had stated that it was investigating the police response of the situation.
Mrs Prior explained the minors were having difficulty walking due to their sickness, so the stepson called the law enforcement again.
She explained the defendant then engaged in the "treat game" in a space of five youngsters.
