A man who contaminated sweets with sleeping medication and gave them to minors at a youth camp in the region has confessed to sexual offences against two children aged between nine and ten.
The accused was taken into custody after eight minors and one adult became sick at the location in mid-summer.
The elderly man, from Ruddington in Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to a series of 17 offences when he appeared at the courthouse on the end of the week.
However, he denied one of the sexual offences he was charged with, which was against a nine-year-old child.
The accused was held in detention prior to a further hearing on late November.
'Candy game'
The prosecutor, handling the case, described the defendant's actions to the legal proceedings.
She said his targets were children from difficult backgrounds who were staying at a summer program which he operated.
The man played a "candy game" with the children, the prosecutor explained, in which he would access the boys' rooms when they were getting ready for bed and tell them to consume candy "as quickly as they can".
She stated to the judge the defendant had played this game with the young males "for many years", and minors had earlier experienced illness the next day.
She said the defendant had been able to explain this repeatedly as the youngsters being "overexcited from fun", until his family member had suspicions in July 2025.
Mrs Prior KC added: "In the summer" his stepson had worries about what was going on, justifiably.
"They decided to examine in the defendant's belongings."
Mrs Prior KC said objects including lubricant, ointment and injection devices were discovered, and his stepson notified the police about his worries.
She explained the defendant continued to conduct the "treat game" with six boys that time - Saturday 26 July - and they were everyone unwell the subsequent day.
"The police had not arrived by that time," she added.
The regulatory agency, the police conduct office, previously told that it was examining law enforcement's management of the situation.
Mrs Prior said the youngsters were struggling to walk due to their sickness, so the family member contacted the police once more.
She said the defendant then engaged in the "sweet game" in a area of five children.
