A HELENSBURGH man who once inserted a sex toy into a dog has been spared jail for a sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl.

Rory Knox preyed on the child at a property in Milton of Campsie, East Dunbartonshire, between January 2019 and March 2021.

The 39-year-old repeatedly asked her to open her legs before moving them apart.

Knox, of Scott Court, also made sexualised comments to the girl about her friends.

Knox hit the headlines earlier this year when he admitted forcing a 10cm sex toy into his partner's dog.

He claimed that he was playing with the pet before the toy got "stuck" inside of her.

Knox begged his partner not to take the "stressed" dog to the vet in fear that he would be arrested.

He was later tagged and put under supervision for a year.

Knox pleaded guilty in October to sexually assaulting the 10-year-old girl.

He also admitted directing sexual communication at a child for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification or to humiliate, distress or alarm the girl.

At Glasgow Sheriff Court on Thursday, Sheriff Tom Hughes put Knox under supervision and placed him on the sex offenders register for three years.

The court earlier heard that the girl came forward to police about Knox's behaviour towards her.

Prosecutor Hannah Sweeney said: "She recalled being in the kitchen with Knox and she was sitting on the fridge while fully clothed.

"Knox told her to open her legs and she said no.

"She recalled another occasion when she was sitting on the living room couch and she was asked to open her legs.

"She said he put his hands on her knees and parted them before she told him to stop as she didn't like it."

The girl also told officers that Knox made comments such as "I wonder how big their breasts are" after a WhatsApp video call to her friends.

Police later arrested Knox.