A person who contaminated candy with sleeping medication and distributed them to minors at a youth camp in the region has admitted sexual crimes against two children aged nine and ten years old.
The accused was taken into custody after eight children and an older person became sick at the facility in July.
The 76-year-old, from that region, admitted guilt to a series of 17 offences when he was present at the courthouse on recently.
Yet, he disputed one of the sexual offences he was charged with, which was involving a nine-year-old child.
The defendant was remanded in custody ahead of a further hearing on November 28th.
'Treat game'
The legal representative, handling the case, outlined the criminal behavior to the legal proceedings.
She said his those affected were children from difficult backgrounds who were staying at a summer program which he operated.
Ruben conducted a "treat game" with the minors, Mrs Prior said, in which he would go into the children's bedrooms when they were settling down and tell them to ingest treats "as quickly as they can".
She informed the proceedings the defendant had conducted this practice with the children "over an extended period", and minors had previously become sick the following morning.
She stated the man had been capable of justifying this for many years as the minors being "overstimulated by activities", until his stepson had worries in July 2025.
The legal representative stated further: "Recently" his stepchild had worries about what was going on, justifiably.
"They decided to have a look in the individual's items."
Mrs Prior KC stated items including lubricant, ointment and syringes were discovered, and his stepchild alerted the authorities about his worries.
She stated the defendant continued to engage in the "sweet game" with six boys that time - Saturday 26 July - and they were all sick the subsequent day.
"The police had not arrived by that time," she stated further.
The regulatory agency, the investigative body, had stated that it was investigating law enforcement's management of the incident.
The legal representative explained the minors were struggling to walk due to being ill, so the family member notified the law enforcement once more.
She said Ruben then played the "treat game" in a space of five children.
