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A 76-year-old retired British veterinarian, Jon Ruben, was sentenced Friday to 23 years and 10 months in prison after a court found he drugged boys at a summer camp in England and used sedatives to carry out sexual abuse.

The sentencing took place at Leicester Crown Court, where Judge Timothy Spencer said Ruben had a “deliberate disregard for the welfare of victims.” The judge also imposed an additional “on license” sentence, which would increase Ruben’s total to 31 years and eight months if he were released and committed the crime again, according to the report of the hearing.

Ruben was arrested in July after eight boys between the ages of 8 and 11 and one adult were taken to a hospital, the court heard. The abuse took place on one July weekend at Stathern Lodge, a converted farmhouse with sports hall and catering facilities about 190 kilometers (120 miles) north of London.

The defendant pleaded guilty in November to 17 offenses, including sexual assaults on two children under 13 and eight counts of child cruelty. The report of the case says Ruben later admitted administering a poison to his wife, Susan Ruben, so she would not wake up while he sexually assaulted the children.

During the sentencing, Spencer said “Ultimately, this case is about you achieving sexual gratification by carrying out your sexual fantasies focused upon young boys through careful, cynical, chilling preparation and by manipulation,” according to the account of the hearing. The parents of Ruben’s young victims sat through the proceeding, with some wiping tears, while Ruben stood in the dock with his hands clasped.

Susan Ruben told the court, “He spent decades trying to paint a picture that he was a righteous, honorable man, when he was actually a sadistic, monstrous pedophile,” as reported from the sentencing. In a joint statement after the hearing, the victims’ parents said Ruben was a “devious child sexual predator” who “portrayed himself as a good Christian.”

Prosecutor Mary Prior said Ruben “used his cloak of Christianity and his position of authority and trust” to sexually abuse the boys. Prior also told the court that Ruben used his knowledge as a veterinary surgeon to administer the sedatives, according to the report.