Father of boy sexually assaulted on campsite saw attacker

The assault took place at the camp site in Drumnadrochit

The father of an eight-year-old boy who was sexually assaulted while camping in the Highlands saw the suspect walking away from his son's tent, Police Scotland have confirmed.

Detectives said the child was sleeping on his own, at the Loch Ness Bay campsite in Drumnadrochit, when the assault happened between 00:20 and 01:00 on Thursday.

The boy's father, who was in a separate tent nearby, saw the man and raised the alarm. The suspect is described as white, aged 30 to 50, about 5ft 10in and bald on top.

Police said the incident has been "hugely traumatising for the child and his family - and naturally worrying to the community".

During a media briefing in Inverness, officers confirmed that the family were tourists on holiday in the area.

It is not known if the attacker was staying on the campsite but police have not ruled out that line of inquiry.

Police Scotland say there will be a large operation at the camp

They said one of the boy's parents became aware of the incident and witnessed the suspect leaving the area.

Det Supt Calum Smith said: "At the time, the father has overheard the incident, has come out, and has seen the man walking away from the tent."

The detective said the suspect spoke back to the boy's father, who had asked what he was doing, before walking off.

The detective added: "I'm not going to go into details of the assault but it was a sexual assault on an eight-year-old child, hugely traumatising on the child, hugely traumatising on the family and naturally worrying to the community.

"This is very unusual for this to happen in the Highlands."

CCTV footage

Det Supt Smith said dedicated team of 10 to 12 officers, both uniform and plain-clothed, were involved in the investigation.

This included reviewing "all available" CCTV footage, he said.

Police also urged anyone who was staying in the Drumnadrochit area to come forward, as any piece of information, could prove vital.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland.

Local councillor David Fraser told BBC Scotland News the attack was "totally shocking" and had "affected the whole community".

He said: "Drumnadrochit is a small highland community on the banks of Loch Ness and things like this don't usually happen here.

"It is a small, close-knit community, we welcome visitors all the time. We are completely shocked that something like this could happen within our village.

"Words cannot describe the impact this event will have had."