76-year-old U.K. man accused of giving sedative-laced candy to kids at camp

A 76-year-old man in England was arrested for allegedly giving boys at a summer camp candy laced with a sedative, prosecutors said.

Jon Ruben, who appeared in a court in central England on Saturday to face child cruelty charges, was ordered detained until a hearing on Aug. 19. He did not enter a plea during the brief hearing at Leicester Magistrates’ Court.

Police say they received a report on Sunday that children had fallen sick at Stathern Lodge, a converted farmhouse with a sports hall and catering facilities about 120 miles north of London.

Eight boys between 8 and 11 and one adult were taken to a hospital as a precaution. All were later discharged.

Ruben was arrested on Monday at a pub near the lodge.

Ruben, whose home address is about 15 miles from the lodge, faces three charges of “wilfully assaulting, ill-treating, neglecting, abandoning or exposing children in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to health,” relating to three boys at the camp.

“This has been an extremely upsetting and shocking moment for the community, and especially for the children and parents most directly affected,” said Janine McKinney, chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service in the East Midlands, according to CBS News partner BBC.

The lodge is owned by Braithwaite Gospel Trust, a Christian charity. Police stressed that the owners “are independent from those people who use or hire the lodge and are not connected to the incident.”