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Camp Leader Jailed for Drugging Kids
6 Feb
Summary
- A summer camp leader received a 23-year sentence for drugging children.
- He injected drugs into sweets as part of a 'sweet game' with kids.
- The defendant admitted 17 offenses, including sexual assault and child cruelty.
Jon Ruben, a former vet and churchgoer, has been sentenced to 23 years and ten months for severe offenses committed at a summer camp he led for 27 years. The incidents, which occurred at Stathern Lodge in Leicestershire, led to several children falling ill. Ruben pleaded guilty to 17 charges, including sexual assault, assault by penetration, child cruelty, and drug offenses.
Investigations revealed Ruben played a 'sweet game' with children, involving injecting drugs into sweets. His actions came to light when his stepson found baby oil, syringes, and laced sweets. Eight boys, aged eight to 11, were hospitalized as a precaution. The judge emphasized Ruben's sole culpability for the devastating impact of his actions on the victims and their families.
Ruben's wife described him as a 'sadistic, monstrous, paedophile' and expressed her sense of betrayal, noting their upcoming silver wedding anniversary would be overshadowed by divorce proceedings. She stated her life, and those of others, had been turned upside down by his actions. The defense acknowledged Ruben referred to himself as a 'monster' and expected to die in prison.
