Pensioner, 76, in court today charged with child cruelty offences after eight kids & adult ‘poisoned' at summer camp
Eight children and one adult were rushed to hospital after falling ill at Stathern Lodge in Leicestershire.
8
8
8
Police arrested and charged Jonathon Ruben, 76, following the horror on Sunday.
He was remanded into custody and will appear at Leicester Magistrates' Court today.
The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed Jonathon Ruben, from Nottingham, was charged with three counts of wilful ill treatment relating to three boys at the summer camp between July 25 and July 29.
Ill treatment of a child can carry a maximum sentence of 14 years' imprisonment under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
The pensioner was originally arrested on Monday evening at a pub on suspicion of administering poison or a noxious thing with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy.
Janine McKinney, chief crown prosecutor for CPS East Midlands, said: "The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised the prosecution of a 76-year-old man with child cruelty offences following a police investigation into a summer camp held at Stathern Lodge, Leicestershire.
"This decision has been made after reviewing a file of evidence from Leicestershire Police.
"Jonathon Ruben will be charged with three offences of wilful ill treatment of a child relating to three boys.
"This has been an extremely upsetting and shocking moment for the community, and especially for the children and parents most directly affected."
It comes after total of eight children - who were all boys aged between eight and 11 - were taken to hospital as a precaution and later discharged.
76-year-old charged with 'child cruelty offences' after eight kids & adult fell sick at summer camp
One adult was also taken to hospital as a precaution and was also discharged.
"Distressed" parents were reportedly unable to see their kids "for hours" as they were taken to a makeshift triage centre nearby.
One witness reported seeing parents "screaming" at officers as they demanded to see their kids.
A resident who lives near the hall said: 'It was pretty chaotic, with emergency workers running around everywhere.
8
8
8
"I saw a few children in tears as they walked into the hall. It's like every parent's worst nightmare."
Leicester shire Police has now referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who have launched a probe.
It comes as officers admitted it received a report on Sunday of children feeling unwell but did not visit the camp until Monday.
The lodge is owned by Christian charity the Braithwaite Gospel Trust, which provides holiday clubs.
An IOPC spokesperson said: "We received a conduct referral on Tuesday (July 29) from Leicestershire Police relating to their handling of concerns passed to them over the wellbeing of a group of children.
"Our assessment team has examined all available evidence and concluded the matter should be independently investigated by the IOPC.
"The investigation will look at whether there were any breaches of professional behaviour - namely a failure to carry out duties and responsibilities - that resulted in a delay in Leicestershire Police's response to what was later declared a critical incident."
8
8
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
Murder arrests in Bury after 19-year-old stabbed in car park
Two 19-year-old men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was stabbed to death in a car victim, also aged 19, was killed at the Powerleague football complex in Market Street, Bury, just before 21:00 BST on Friday, Greater Manchester Police sustained several stab wounds and died later from his injuries, the force men were arrested in Bury on Saturday night and remain in custody over what police believe was a "targeted attack". Det Ch Insp John Charlton previously appealed for any witnesses to get in touch."This incident will have shocked the community and distressed anyone who witnessed it, but we believe this was a targeted attack with no wider threat," he said. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
River in Northampton partly closed as police investigate death
Police have closed a stretch of river while they investigate a nearby 06:30 BST on Friday, officers were called to a canal footpath behind Auctioneers Court, Northampton, where an injured man in his 50s was discovered on a bench.A murder investigation launched by Northamptonshire Police has now seen part of the River Nene closed to pedestrians and river traffic between London Road bridge and Nunn Mills Road force said the river will likely remain closed until Tuesday evening while searches take place. On Saturday, Northamptonshire Police appealed to those living in nearby apartments overlooking the River Nene as they may be able to help the force had said a forensic post mortem examination was set to take place at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester on the same with information or video footage have been urged to contact the police. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Telegraph
How my beloved Green Party lost the plot
I refuse to accept that the Green Party is a lost cause. But, boy, how we have fallen from grace. I joined 23 years ago, following a stint drafting environmental briefings in the European Parliament. I was feeling positive about how Greens were able to effect change internationally. We didn't do identity politics on steroids back then. During bi-annual conferences and internal debates, we enjoyed discussion on all manner of topics, from peace in the Middle East and our future in Europe to decriminalising prostitution (bad idea). We could debate knowing that even on the most divisive issue – win or lose a conference vote – there was more that united than divided us. My party felt like a university in which impassioned debate and persuasive thinking carried the day, whether on policy or electoral strategy. How things have changed: viewpoint diversity, once embraced, has now become extinct in the Greens. I'd probably mark Autumn 2016 as the point when the identitarian turn really started to take grip of the party. This coincided with the end of my term as Deputy Leader (of course!) and Aimee Challenor (the party's equality spokesperson) successfully moving a motion on trans rights that said: 'Transwomen are women'. I missed the debate, but already sensed a determination by Challenor to win at all costs. A hallmark of authoritarian groupthink is voting a certain way because someone tells you to, not because you've reasoned your way there. That same year Challenor's father David was charged with raping a ten year old child. David Challenor, who had been Aimee's election agent, was sentenced in 2018 for 22 years for child sex offences. Aimee resigned after an investigation was launched into failures of disclosure. I was one of a few people to call out the double standards at the heart of the party's refusal to condemn or criticise the Challenors. But as a party we couldn't bring ourselves to properly reflect on how we had left ourselves so vulnerable to entryism from gender ideology extremists. Fast forward to today. Gender ideological insanity has accelerated to such a degree that, year on year, scores of gender critical activists have now been persecuted or purged out of the party for wrongthink. Four successive co-chairs of Green Party Women – Emma Bateman, Zoe Hatch, Dawn Furness and Amanda Stones – have been suspended or expelled. Darren Johnson, a London Assembly member for 16 years, was suspended. Eric Walker, a 100-year-old D-Day veteran, was suspended. Not content with unlawfully removing me as a spokesperson, the party now faces a second court case after revoking my membership. This is the first leadership bid I've been debarred from contesting. It is with sadness that I witness the descent of my party into the entrenched identity politics so typical of the hard Left. Out of the candidates for leader or deputy, not one is openly gender critical. None unequivocally supports the Supreme Court ruling on the meaning of sex in the Equality Act or commends the Cass review for safeguarding youth from 'gender affirming' medical malpractice. Zack Polanski, famed for allegedly offering a breast-enlargement hypnosis service, has been insistent on getting rid of single-sex spaces. On the LBC leadership debate, he repeatedly affirmed the right of people with penises, however they identified, to be welcomed into refuges for women seeking support and protection from abusive men. Polanski's views are abhorrent and directly contrary to any rational extension of our commitment to single-sex provision in hospital wards. It is not just over gender that the Green Party has lost its way. It has also done so over ethnicity and religion. The fear of religious fundamentalism in society is rising. Yet the Green Party are shamelessly exploiting the conflict in Gaza to court the Muslim vote. This is cynical and divisive. Like Polanski, I despair about the unconscionable war crimes being perpetrated by Israel upon Gazans, but Hamas should not escape our condemnation for their ongoing crimes committed against innocent Israeli hostages. Years after I locked horns with him on how not to define anti-Semitism, Polanski now rides roughshod over Jewish sensitivities in an effort to rebrand himself as the saviour of the Palestinians and ally of Corbyn. This is a striking development because in 2018 he tweeted that he 'was a pro-European Jew' and that these were 'two reasons I couldn't vote for Labour under Jeremy Corbyn'. His outpourings on the conflict have become so tribal that, not only would we be poorly placed to broker peace with his stated genocidal enemy; but we risk alienating the Jewish community in the UK by fuelling the rise of anti-Semitic sentiment itself. Councillor Mothin Ali, our latest Muslim poster boy and deputy candidate, has also defended his focus on Palestine after being criticised for crying 'Allahu Akbar' upon election. Mothin is no fundamentalist, but nor have his pronouncements to date given me confidence that he's a politician poised for all people. Has he nothing to say about the early morning Muslim call to prayer (Adhan) disrupting the sleep of keyworkers in Leicester? Would he defend the promotion of Zakat (charities for Muslims only), using Council-owned lampposts, along the length and breadth of Mile End Road? Does he not recognise as valid that many people are affronted by having their neighbourhoods increasingly populated by women in burkas? I despise the medieval expression of patriarchy which the burka represents in modern Britain, and find it deeply antithetical to our values. Mothin, by contrast, remains silent on these matters. To do otherwise, he would need to park his faith when doing politics and prioritise liberalism over religion. It seems that liberalism for Lefties is a one-way street with all the rights but none of the obligations.
