[Ammi]

A 76-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of poisoning a group of children at a summer camp in Leicestershire.

Police officers, paramedics and an air ambulance were scrambled to the camp on Canal Lane in the village of Stathern at around 4pm on Sunday, 27 July, after reports that a group of children were feeling unwell.

After being transported to a triage centre at the nearby village hall in Plungar, the children were assessed by the ambulance service, and eight were taken to Queen’s Medical Centre as a precaution.

The children had been attending a summer camp at a youth centre called Strathern Lodge, which is owned by the Christian charity Braithwaite Gospel Trust.

A representative of the trust said that while it maintains the upkeep of the building, the centre is self-catered and is hired out by various organisations for education holidays and events. It has no direct involvement with the camp.

The children have since been discharged from hospital, and their parents have been informed.

The 76-year-old man was arrested at the camp on suspicion of administering a poison with intent to injure, and remains in police custody.

Ed Argar, Conservative MP for Melton and Syston, said the reports were "clearly shocking" and "deeply concerning".

"Our thoughts are with the young people affected - wishing them a full recovery," he added.

He said while he understood people “will have a lot of questions” he urged caution against people speculating about what happened while police investigate.

On Thursday afternoon, a police cordon remained in place on Canal Lane just outside the small village.

Two police cars and three officers were stationed at the cordon while other police vehicles were seen leaving the site.

Detective Inspector Neil Holden, the senior investigating officer, said: “We understand the concern this incident will have caused to parents, guardians and the surrounding community.

“We are in contact with the parents and guardians of all children concerned.

Describing it as a “complex and sensitive investigation”, he added: “Please be reassured that we have several dedicated resources deployed and are working with partner agencies, including children’s services to ensure full safeguarding is provided to the children involved.



…full article…
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/man-76-arr...111954409.html

[bots]

crazy guy on the loose

[Niamh.]

Jesus. How did he do that I wonder?

[Ammi]

Youtube video

[Cherie]

If the children were feeling ill why were the police called first and not the ambulance service, something strange going on here

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Jesus. How did he do that I wonder?

Maybe they picked mushrooms and ate them

or he fed them nettle soup with extras

They are all fine I wont be surprised to hear that this was an accidental poisoning, if he was helping run a camp he must have had a DBS check

[Maru]

Originally Posted by Cherie

If the children were feeling ill why were the police called first and not the ambulance service, something strange going on here

Maybe a CYA measure with so many kids involved... and if they were questioning someone on campus while this was going on privately, then police would called in for that as well... maybe the person is the only likely connection.

[arista]

Evil.

[Redway]

Goodness.

[arista]

[Mystic Mock]

Twisted ****er.

[Ammi]

…it’s a strange story until we learn more details …he was arrested on suspicion of administering poison/a noxious thing ‘with intent to injure/aggrieve/annoy’…but no intent to kill/seriously harm…?…and the descriptive ‘poison’ is in single quotations in some articles so not a known poisonous substance as such…?..something that was intended to cause discomfort and disrupt their stay, maybe…?…also in some articles it’s said that the police refuse to comment on the ages and genders of the children involved…those details are often not commented on/revealed with children in first reports of stories so that seems odd phrasing to state that specifically…?…I think there’s lots of blanks to fill in atm and it won’t be released the man’s identity unless he’s charged…/…which I don’t think he has been yet…I think that I read that the police have applied to hold him for longer…

[Ammi]

…also this was a suspected ‘poisoning’ of children that apparently the police were called and notified on Sunday…but they didn’t attend until Monday…?…so there is also an investigation there as to why that was…

…it sounds as though the children displayed something like mild food poisoning symptoms or a virus or something…and then for whatever reason, it was then thought to be purposefully engineered by this person who was in a nearby pub at the time they were arrested…all very strange…the farmhouse used to be used by a gospel group/organisation/gathering but now it’s rented out by different organisations apparently…because it has relevant sports/activities and catering facilities etc…

[Ammi]

A former vet and primary school teacher has been charged over the alleged poisoning of children at a Christian summer camp in Leicestershire.

Jonathan Ruben, 76, the secretary of a charity running the holiday getaway, has been charged with three counts of wilful ill-treatment of a child. The charges relate to three different children.

Mr Ruben, of Ruddington, Nottingham, has been remanded into custody and will appear at Leicester magistrates’ court on Saturday.

Police received a report of children feeling unwell at the camp at Stathern Lodge on Sunday, but officers were not deployed until Monday.

Ten ambulances and an air ambulance were in attendance, and eight children, all boys aged between eight and 11, were taken to hospital as a precaution. They have all since been discharged.

On Monday, Mr Ruben was arrested in a pub car park in Plungar, just over a mile from the lodge, where the village hall was used as a triage centre to assess all children present at the camp.

Before he retired, he spent more than 40 years as a vet after qualifying from the Royal (Dick) Vet School in Edinburgh in 1972 before completing a PhD in virology, studying NDV in chickens.

He opened his own small animal practice in the 1980s, which expanded to eight vets and four branches, but then changed direction and qualified as an early years primary school teacher. He then worked as a locum vet, and as the children and youth worker at his church.

Mr Ruben is thought to have ended his work as a locum vet last year when he dissolved his company, but had previously stood to join the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Council in 2012. He received 800 votes, short of the 1,200 needed to be elected.


According to a blog for his campaign, he had previously stood for the Conservatives at local elections in Edinburgh.

The children were at the summer camp at the lodge, owned by the Braithwaite Gospel Trust, a Christian charity, which bought it in 2017, when they fell ill.




…full article…


https://uk.yahoo.com/news/pensioner-...172043201.html

[Ammi]

[bots]

i don't think he would have been remanded unless there was strong evidence against him

edit: Sweets laced with sedatives apparently

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by bots

i don't think he would have been remanded unless there was strong evidence against him

edit: Sweets laced with sedatives apparently

…as you say…

A man has been remanded into custody charged with child cruelty offences after allegedly lacing sweets with sedatives.

Jon Ruben, 76, of Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, appeared at Leicester Magistrates' Court on Saturday after youngsters fell ill at a summer camp in Stathern, Leicestershire.

He has been charged with three counts of wilfully assaulting, ill-treating, neglecting, abandoning or exposing children in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to health.

The charges relate to three boys at the camp between 25-29 July.

[Cherie]

oh this doesn't sound good