A 76-year-old man has been brought before a magistrates’ court over claims that sweets allegedly containing sedatives led to several children falling ill at a Leicestershire summer camp in the United Kingdom.
Jon Ruben was arrested following an investigation launched by Leicestershire Police after eight boys and one adult at the Stathern Lodge camp in Stathern were hospitalised on Monday.
All nine individuals have since been discharged.
Ruben, who resides at Wayte Court, off Landmere Lane in Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, now faces three counts of wilful child ill-treatment involving three boys between 25 and 29 July.
Appearing briefly at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, the defendant did not indicate any pleas in response to the charges.
He is accused of having “wilfully assaulted, ill-treated, neglected, abandoned or exposed” the boys in a way likely to cause “unnecessary suffering or injury to health.”
Ruben has been remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear before Leicester Crown Court on 29 August.
Police were first alerted to the incident on Sunday after reports emerged that children at the camp had suddenly fallen ill.
The eight boys, aged between eight and eleven, along with one adult, were taken to the hospital as a safety measure.
Meanwhile, the Independent Office for Police Conduct has opened an inquiry into how Leicestershire Police handled the matter.