Mary Prior KC was instructed by East Midlands Complex Crime Unit of the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute Jonathan Ruben, a retired vet and teacher, who poisoned young boys who attended Christian summer camps ran by the Stathern Lodge Children’s Holiday charity in the summer of 2025 in Leicestershire. He injected sedatives into sweets and played a game with the 8-11 years’ old boys to see who could eat three sweets the fastest.
Having drugged the children, Ruben waited until they were all sedated and then set about choosing those he wished to sexually abuse. There was a history of using indecent images of children being abused from the dark web and a history of buying illicit drugs on the dark web from overseas to use to drug the children. The defendant received an extended sentence of imprisonment as he was deemed to be dangerous.
Details of the case can be read here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c99k9vg10gvt
Further information
For more information from the crime team, contact clerks@36crime.co.uk
Involving Mary Prior KC
