A man who laced candy with sedative and distributed them to children at a summer camp in the area has pleaded guilty to sexual crimes against two children both nine and 10.
The accused was detained after eight children and one adult experienced illness at the facility in the summer month.
The senior citizen, from the Nottinghamshire area, pleaded guilty to a total of 17 charges when he was present at the judicial center on recently.
Yet, he denied one particular crime he was accused of, which was concerning a nine-year-old child.
The accused was kept in jail ahead of a further hearing on late November.
'Sweet game'
The prosecutor, prosecuting, outlined the defendant's actions to the legal proceedings.
She explained his targets were disadvantaged youngsters who were participating in a youth camp which he ran.
The man played a "sweet game" with the children, the prosecutor said, in which he would go into the sleeping quarters when they were getting ready for bed and ask them to consume candy "as quickly as they can".
She told the court the man had engaged in this activity with the boys "repeatedly", and children had previously fallen ill the next day.
She said the defendant had been capable of justifying this repeatedly as the minors being "overwrought by enjoyment", until his family member had concerns in recently.
The prosecutor continued: "In the summer" his family member had suspicions about the situation, for good reason.
"They chose" to have a look in the defendant's belongings."
The legal counsel said objects including lubricant, Vaseline and syringes were discovered, and his stepchild alerted the law enforcement about his concerns.
She said the man proceeded to conduct the "candy game" with six youngsters that time - that Saturday - and they were all sick the following morning.
"The police had not gone out by that stage," she added.
The oversight body, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, had stated that it was examining Leicestershire Police's handling of the events.
The prosecutor stated the youngsters were struggling to walk due to being ill, so the family member contacted the authorities a second time.
She said the defendant then played the "sweet game" in a area of five minors.
