Bulgarian siblings who assaulted girls in Dundee due to be sentenced

Two Bulgarian siblings who assaulted girls during an incident in Dundee last year are due to be sentenced on Friday.

Ilia Belov, 23, assaulted a 12-year-old girl during the incident and behaved in a “threatening or abusive manner” towards four girls aged between 12 and 14.

He was found guilty following a trial at Dundee Sheriff Court earlier this year.

Belov’s sister Nadjedzha Belova, 20, earlier pleaded guilty to one charge of assaulting a 13-year-old girl during the same incident, which happened in the Lochee area of the city in August 2025.

During the trial, the court heard events began when Belov made sexual remarks to a 12-year-old as she walked towards a bus stop with some other girls.

Giving evidence by video-link, the girl, who is now 14, recalled: “He kept saying, ‘come here sexy. I will show you how to have a good time’.”

She said his words made her feel “dead angry” and she turned around and began shouting at him.

Belov then phoned his sister, who arrived shortly afterwards and began attacking a 13-year-old member of the group.

In the ensuing fracas, Belov pushed the 12-year-old, who told the court she hit her head on a metal handrail as she fell to the ground.

After standing back up, she pulled out an axe and knife she said had been hidden in her waistband for five to 10 minutes before the incident.

She said after revealing the weapons she was “basically sat holding them”, saying she “knew” the man would “try to go for (another of the girls)”.

When the police arrived minutes later, the girl said she dumped the weapons on a nearby roundabout, where they were later recovered by officers.

Giving evidence during the trial, Belov claimed he had pushed the girl in order to protect his sister after seeing she had a knife hidden under her T-shirt.

He also denied having made sexualised remarks to the girls, telling the court they had been saying derogatory things to him, including calling him a “f****** migrant”.

However, Sheriff Niven-Smith rejected Belov’s version of events, describing it as “neither credible nor reliable”.