A summer camp leader who sexually assaulted boys after giving them sweets laced with tranquiliser is to appeal against his prison sentence.

Jon Ruben was jailed for 23 years and 10 months in February after his offending came to light when several children fell ill at a camp he was running in Stathern, Leicestershire, in July 2025.

Leicester Crown Court heard the former vet, teacher and church worker had used “the cloak of Christianity” to target vulnerable children.

The 77-year-old is due to appear at the Court of Appeal on 23 October.

Ruben, from Ruddington in Nottinghamshire, was arrested after eight children and one adult fell ill at Stathern Lodge last year.

The court heard Ruben – who had run a holiday camp for children for at least 27 years – had played a “sweet game”, in which he would go into boys’ rooms when they were getting ready for bed and invite them to eat drug-laced sweets “as quickly as they can”.

Some of the boys had fallen ill after playing the game, and were seen the next morning “walking into walls and in the wrong direction”.

Police were called to the camp by Ruben’s stepson, who had found baby oil, Vaseline and syringes, and Ruben was subsequently detained at a nearby pub and charged.

In November, Ruben pleaded guilty to 17 offences including the sexual assault of a child under 13, assault of a child under 13 by penetration, and eight counts of child cruelty.

The judge said he had “misused” his veterinary knowledge and used the dark web to access drugs.

He added Ruben had “espoused Christianity” and used his religion and his regard in the church to get into “close proximity to boys”.

Ruben also admitted drugging his wife Susan, to ensure she would not wake up while the abuse took place, prompting her to brand him in court as a “sadistic, monstrous paedophile”.

At the Court of Appeal hearing, confirmed by his legal team, Ruben is due to challenge his sentence of 23 years and 10 months in custody with an extended licence of eight years.

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