Retired Vet Pleads Guilty to Drugging Wife in Child Assaults

Jon Ruben, a 76-year-old retired veterinarian from Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty on Wednesday at Leicester Crown Court to drugging his wife so she would not wake during his sexual assaults on children at a Christian summer camp he ran. The admission came months after Ruben entered pleas to multiple child sex offenses and related charges stemming from incidents at Stathern Lodge in Stathern, Leicestershire, last July.

Ruben, who sobbed in the dock while dressed in a blue shirt and beige trousers, admitted administering temazepam, a noxious substance, to his 63-year-old wife, Susan, between July 26 and 29, 2024. Prosecutor Mary Prior KC told the court the drugging ensured Susan Ruben remained asleep while her husband abused the children. During a voluntary police interview, Ruben confessed to the act. After entering his plea, he stated, "I'm so sorry." Judge Timothy Spencer KC addressed him, saying the upcoming sentencing on Friday would be "a very tough day in your life" and that a significant prison term was inevitable.

The case unfolded during a three-day residential holiday camp organized by the Stathern Children's Holiday Fund, a Christian charity of which Susan...