Man aged 76 accused of lacing sweets as kids fall ill at camp in Britain
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Police in Leicestershire, central England, said eight children, aged between eight and 11, and one adult were taken to hospital as a precaution.
PHOTO: FACEBOOK/LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE
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- John Ruben, 76, is charged with three counts of wilful ill-treatment for allegedly lacing sweets with sedatives at a summer camp.
- Eight boys, aged 8-11, and one adult were hospitalised on July 28 after becoming unwell at the Stathern camp; all have been discharged.
- The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating potential delays in Leicestershire Police's response to the incident.
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LONDON – A 76-year-old man appeared in a British court on Aug 2 accused of lacing sweets with sedatives and causing several children to fall unwell at a summer camp.
John Ruben, from Leicestershire in central England, appeared in court charged with three counts of wilful ill-treatment of a child at the camp during the last weekend of July.
He was charged on Aug 1 over the treatment of three boys, according to Leicestershire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which authorises criminal charges in England and Wales.
Ruben appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Aug 2 and was told the charges relate to sweets allegedly laced with sedatives.
Police received a report on July 27 that children at the camp in the village of Stathern had fallen ill.
Officers went the following day and eight children – all boys aged between eight and 11 – and one adult were taken to hospital as “a precaution”, police said.
All have since been discharged.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has said it is investigating whether there were “breaches of professional behaviour... that resulted in a delay in Leicestershire Police’s response to what was later declared a critical incident”. AFP
