Man aged 76 accused of lacing sweets as kids fall ill at camp in Britain
Police in Leicestershire, central England, said eight children – all boys aged between eight and 11 - and one adult were taken to hospital as a precaution.
LONDON - A 76-year-old man appeared in a British court on Aug 2 accused of lacing sweets with sedatives and causing several children to fall unwell at a summer camp.
John Ruben, from Leicestershire in central England, appeared in court charged with three counts of wilful ill treatment of a child at the camp last weekend.
He was charged on Aug 1 over the treatment of three boys, according to Leicestershire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which authorises criminal charges in England and Wales.
Ruben appeared at Leicester Magistrates' Court on Aug 2 and was told the charges relate to sweets allegedly laced with sedatives.
Police received a report on July 27 that children at the camp in the village of Stathern had fallen ill.
Officers went the following day and eight children – all boys aged between eight and 11 - and one adult, were taken to hospital as 'a precaution', police said.
All have since been discharged.
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The Independent Office for Police Conduct has said it is investigating whether there were 'breaches of professional behaviour... that resulted in a delay in Leicestershire Police's response to what was later declared a critical incident'. AFP
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