A man has confessed to drugging his wife to keep her asleep while he sexually abused children. Jon Ruben, aged 76, had previously admitted to sexually assaulting two boys at a summer camp in Stathern Lodge, Leicestershire, and committing child cruelty against six other victims.
Ruben, residing in Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, acknowledged administering a harmful substance, temazepam, to Susan Ruben without her consent between July 26 and 29 the previous year. His admission came during a voluntary interview with the police at Leicester Crown Court.
The arrest of Ruben followed the illness of eight children and one adult at the camp in July. Operating a children’s holiday camp for over 27 years, he spiked candies with tranquilizers and abused two children after engaging them in a “sweet game.”
Under the guise of a game, Ruben instructed the boys to quickly consume the sweets before bedtime. The victims mentioned that this game had been ongoing for several years and that children had previously fallen ill the following day.
Ruben pleaded guilty to a total of 17 charges, including sexual assault on a child under 13, child cruelty, producing indecent images of children, and drug-related offenses at the Leicester Crown Court hearing on November 14. During the recent court session, he tearfully apologized after entering his guilty plea, prompting Judge Timothy Spencer KC to remark on his unusual display of emotion and the impending sentencing as a challenging moment for Ruben.
Ruben’s stepson raised alarms after discovering suspicious items among Ruben’s belongings, leading to a police report. Prosecutor Mary Prior KC highlighted that affected children experienced difficulty in movement, slurred speech, and drowsiness, with traces of liquid Xanax found in their systems upon hospitalization.
Upon examining Ruben’s electronic devices, investigators uncovered over 50 category A indecent videos of children, along with Category B and C videos created between August 2023 and June the following year. Notably, none of the illicit images featured children associated with the summer camp.
Leicestershire Police clarified that the management of Stathern Lodge is independent of the individuals involved in the incident. Ruben is set to receive sentencing on Friday.
