Two Bulgarian siblings who attacked girls during an incident in Dundee last year have been sentenced after a video of a young girl brandishing an axe and knife went viral. Ilia Belov, 23, assaulted a 12-year-old girl during the incident and acted in a "threatening or abusive manner" towards four girls aged between 12 and 14.
Sentencing at Dundee Sheriff Court
On Friday, he was handed an 18-month supervision order, ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work, and his name was placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for 18 months. He had been found guilty following a trial at Dundee Sheriff Court earlier this year.
Belov's sister Nadjedzha Belova, 20, previously pleaded guilty to one charge of assaulting a 13-year-old girl during the same incident, which took place in the Lochee area of the city in August 2025. She was sentenced to 180 hours of unpaid work during the same hearing at Dundee Sheriff Court on Friday.
Court hears account of incident
Sheriff Timothy Niven-Smith had previously dismissed Belov's account of events, labelling it as "neither credible nor reliable". During the trial, the court heard that the incident began when Belov made sexual remarks to a 12-year-old as she walked towards a bus stop with some other girls.
Giving evidence via videolink, the girl, now 14, remembered: "He kept saying, 'come here sexy. I will show you how to have a good time'." She said his comments made her feel "dead angry" and she turned around and started shouting at him.
Girl discards weapons after police arrive
Belov then called his sister, who arrived shortly afterwards and began attacking a 13-year-old member of the group. In the ensuing melee, Belov shoved the 12-year-old girl, who testified in court that she hit her head on a metal handrail as she tumbled to the ground.
After regaining her footing, she brandished an axe and knife she claimed had been concealed in her waistband for five to 10 minutes prior to the incident. Upon the arrival of the police a few minutes later, the girl said she discarded the weapons on a nearby roundabout, where they were subsequently retrieved by officers.
Belov refuted allegations of making sexualised comments towards the girls, insisting to the court that they had been hurling insults at him, including labelling him a "f****** migrant".
