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Camp Leader Jailed for Drugging Children with Tranquilizers
9 Feb
Summary
- Summer camp leader jailed for over 23 years for drugging children with tranquilizers.
- Police officers and staff are being investigated for their slow response.
- Children were sexually abused after being given sweets laced with sedatives.
Jon Ruben, a former vet and church administrator, has been sentenced to over 23 years in prison for the sexual abuse of children at a summer camp. Ruben, who had run the camp for at least 27 years, used tranquilizers hidden in sweets to incapacitate vulnerable boys.
Ruben purchased liquid Xanax from the dark web, believing it to be temazepam, to drug the children. He would offer sweets laced with the sedative as part of a "sweet game," with prizes for those who consumed them quickly. Some children fell ill and displayed disorientation after playing this game.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the response of Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire Police. Two officers and three staff from Leicestershire Police, along with two staff members from Nottinghamshire Police, are under gross misconduct investigation. They are being scrutinized for allegedly delaying the response to serious safeguarding concerns raised about the camp.
