Man charged with sexually assaulting eight-year-old boy on Highlands campsite dies in prison
He was charged over the incident at Loch Ness Bay campsite on 31 July
Last updated 9th Nov 2025
A man accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old boy on a Highlands campsite has died in prison.
John Bell, 44, was charged over the incident at Loch Ness Bay campsite in Drumnadrochit, where police were told a boy was approached inside his tent between 00:20 and 01:00 on 31 July.
Bell was found dead in his cell at HMP Inverness on Saturday, where he was being remanded in custody. He made no plea at a court appearance in September.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Prison Service said: "Every death, whether in prison custody or in our communities, is a tragedy for all those who knew and supported the individual."
Police Scotland said there did not appear to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.
A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal, with a fatal accident inquiry to be held in due course.
The family were holidaying at Loch Ness Bay Campsite when a man attacked the schoolboy - who was sleeping in a separate tent to his parents.
His father called the police when he spotted a man walking away from his son’s tent in the middle of the night.
A month later, Bell, of Grangemouth, was arrested and charged over the incident after police reviewed over 1500 hours of CCTV footage to track him down.
Police said the incident has been "hugely traumatising for the child and his family - and naturally worrying to the community".