England - Jonathan Ruben, 76 arrested over alleged poisoning of children at Christian summer camp in Leicestershire - 28 July 2025

[Spectrix]

A 76-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of administering poison after children fell ill at a summer camp in Leicestershire.

Leicestershire Police received a report about children feeling unwell at the camp at Stathern Lodge on Sunday.

Police said officers went to the camp in Canal Lane and the children were checked over. Eight were then taken to hospital as a precaution and have since been discharged.

The man was arrested on Monday evening and remains in custody, police said. He was detained on suspicion of administering poison or a noxious thing with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy.

Man, 76, arrested as Stathern Lodge summer camp children fall ill

Police received a report of children feeling unwell on Sunday before turning up at the camp on Monday.

www.bbc.com

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Ruben has since been charged with "child cruelty offences" and will appear in court today.

Man charged after children fell ill at Stathern Lodge summer camp

Jon Ruben, 76, is charged with child cruelty offences, the Crown Prosecution Service says.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Coppertop15]

This is not the summer to send your kids to Christian camp, apparently. What in the world is going on?

 

[Skigh]

Man, 76, appears in court charged with child cruelty offences

Jon Ruben , 76, appeared at Leicester Magistrates' Court this morning accused of child cruelty offences and was remanded in custody.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Young boys were given sweets laced with sedatives in a suspected poisoning at a children's summer camp, a court has been told.

Jon Ruben, 76, appeared at Leicester Magistrates' Court this morning accused of child cruelty offences and was remanded in custody.

He has been charged with three offences of wilful ill treatment of a child relating to three boys, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

 

[MadeleineMaxwell]

It begs the question, why? Where were these children when they were given the sedatives?

 

[MadeleineMaxwell]

The man charged lives at an address 25-30 minutes drive from the camp according to the BBC article. Did he work at the camp?

 

[Sarahlou]

It begs the question, why? Where were these children when they were given the sedatives?

I don't like to think about why...my mind is going to a certain place.
I think there's going to be some horrible stories come out of this.
Poor boys.

 

[Skigh]

I don't like to think about why...my mind is going to a certain place.
I think there's going to be some horrible stories come out of this.
Poor boys.

It could be that they were quite difficult to manage and so he decided to give them sedatives at bedtime so they would not be up at night causing problems . Extremely misguided ,but without any other sinister motive.

 

[WiseOwl]

It could be that they were quite difficult to manage and so he decided to give them sedatives at bedtime so they would not be up at night causing problems . Extremely misguided ,but without any other sinister motive.

He's been remanded in custody, so it doesn't appear as if his actions were misguided.

 

[LouTennant]

It could be that they were quite difficult to manage and so he decided to give them sedatives at bedtime so they would not be up at night causing problems . Extremely misguided ,but without any other sinister motive.

I'm calling more to it then sedatives to calm the kids down. At 76 he would know better than to do something like that especially when the job is not crucial at his age.

So I'm calling something sinister and I'm sure we find out soon.

JMO

 

[Kittypoo]

It begs the question, why? Where were these children when they were given the sedatives?

My children did several local Christian holiday youth clubs (2/3 hours) not residential and I can vouch that the sweet tuck shop was one of the high lights for them. Could this method have been used?
Very sad for children and parents thinking they are in a safe environment.
IMO

 

[Bluebear15]

I wonder if he's done this before.
I can't see anything in any link that states that the camp is Christian, just that it's for socially disadvantaged kids.

 

[Lucy6226]

I don't think this was an innocent mistake. I think he knew exactly what he was doing, the fact he has been remanded suggests police know his motives too. Moo

 

[TootsieFootsie]

He used to be a Vet.

 

[Sarahlou]

I wonder if he's done this before.
I can't see anything in any link that states that the camp is Christian, just that it's for socially disadvantaged kids.

The charity is Christian. This calls it a Christian camp.

John Ruben, secretary of Christian charity, charged with ‘wilful ill-treatment’
A retired vet allegedly gave children at a Christian summer camp sweets “laced with sedatives”, a court heard...

Pensioner ‘gave children sweets laced with sedatives at summer camp’, court told

John Ruben, secretary of Christian charity, charged with ‘wilful ill-treatment’

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Pensioner charged after children ‘poisoned’ at summer camp

Jonathan Ruben, 76, charged with three counts of wilful ill-treatment of a child

www.telegraph.co.uk

Pensioner charged after children ‘poisoned’ at summer camp​

Behind a paywall, I think. Posting it here for those who subscribe.

 

[teeby]

Giving children sedatives as a sleep aid without permission is illegal even if you weren't doing it for nefarious purposes. There was a daycare a while back where the owner was arrested for giving children melatonin to make them nap. In the US camp staff doesn't generally have the right to give your children medication that hasn't been prescribed by a doctor or at least signed off by you.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Homeopaths up in arms about new RCVS position on alternative medicine

The Faculty of Homeopathy and the British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons (BAHVS) have responded to the RCVS's new position on the use of complementary...

www.vetsurgeon.org

Some of his views from 8 years ago
Jonathan Ruben over 8 years ago

I’m sorry that Arlo still believes that the sun goes round a flat earth like the rest of the veterinary establishment. It is quite clear from anyone’s observation that the sun goes round the earth. We see it moving across the sky every day. This is why 17th century scientists dismissed Gallileo’s ideas. Dissing something you don’t understand is foolish. I personally can see no scientific evidence for homeopathy, yet it works. We are only beginning to find out exactly how many orthodox medications actually achieve their clinical effect. Gabapentin being one example. Tramadol used as a pain killer achieves most of its effect by mimicking the action of Prozac.

 

[Spectrix]

-

Ugh, with the Daily Fail now reporting that three of the eight children at the camp were given sweets laced with sedatives, it strikes me as a planned sexual assault. Although I suspect he'll claim that it was just meant to aid the sleep of restless children.

I wonder if he's done this before.

Interestingly, Stathern Lodge has only two google reviews;
One of them is a single star review saying "I got sick".

I can't see anything in any link that states that the camp is Christian, just that it's for socially disadvantaged kids.

It appears to be owned by the Braithwaite Gospel Trust and certainly looks to have a religious theme.

Type of Camp

Christian-based residential camp for disadvantaged children

Activities

Games, crafts, zip-wire, group exercises, worship sessions

Focus

Developing confidence, teamwork, Christian fellowship

Organisers

Stathern Children’s Holiday Fund, Braithwaite Gospel Trust

 

[WiseOwl]

Homeopaths up in arms about new RCVS position on alternative medicine

The Faculty of Homeopathy and the British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons (BAHVS) have responded to the RCVS's new position on the use of complementary...

www.vetsurgeon.org

Some of his views from 8 years ago
Jonathan Ruben over 8 years ago

I’m sorry that Arlo still believes that the sun goes round a flat earth like the rest of the veterinary establishment. It is quite clear from anyone’s observation that the sun goes round the earth. We see it moving across the sky every day. This is why 17th century scientists dismissed Gallileo’s ideas. Dissing something you don’t understand is foolish. I personally can see no scientific evidence for homeopathy, yet it works. We are only beginning to find out exactly how many orthodox medications actually achieve their clinical effect. Gabapentin being one example. Tramadol used as a pain killer achieves most of its effect by mimicking the action of Prozac.

It makes you wonder if he has tried this before and somehow got away with it.