‘Monstrous’ ex-vet jailed for camp abuse

An ex-vet who drugged his wife before sedating and sexually abusing children at a summer camp has accepted he is likely to die in jail, a court has heard.

Jonathan Ruben was sentenced to 23 years and 10 months in prison, plus an extended period of eight years on licence, after release, at Leicester Crown Court today (6 February).

He had earlier been branded a “sadistic, monstrous paedophile” by his wife, whom he admitted to drugging earlier this week.

Guilty pleas

Ruben, 76, of Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, had previously pleaded guilty to 17 other charges, including two sexual offences against boys under 13 and three counts of making indecent images of children.

His crimes came to light after nine people, eight of them children, were taken to hospital after falling ill at a summer camp he ran near Melton Mowbray last July.

Passing sentence, Judge Timothy Spencer KC said Ruben had illegally obtained sedatives via the dark web and “misused” his veterinary knowledge to inject them into sweets that were given to the children, the Leicester Mercury reported.

‘Cloak of Christianity’

He said Ruben, a former RCVS council election candidate, had used a “cloak of Christianity” to abuse the boys before telling him: “Your actions were pre-meditated and pre-planned.”

The judge added that he considered Ruben to be so dangerous that an “extended sentence” was necessary, though he stopped short of imposing a life term.

Earlier, victim impact statements read to the court saw Ruben described as a “creature
and “predator” who had committed “soul-destroying” crimes.

Defence barrister Thomas Schofield KC said his client had himself been sexually abused as a child and was remorseful about his own offending, describing himself as a “monster”.

He added: “Given his age, he expects to die in prison, whatever the sentence will be. He embraces the need for punishment.”