Brother and sister guilty of attacking teenage girls in Dundee

A Dundee man has been convicted of making inappropriate sexual comments to a group of girls aged between 12 and 14 before pushing one of them to the ground. Ilia Belov, 22, stated he confronted the girls after they directed abusive language at him and claimed he saw one girl carrying a knife prior to the incident.

His sister, 20-year-old Nadjedzha Belova, had already admitted to assaulting a 13-year-old girl by grabbing her hair, dragging her down, and striking her head. Both siblings are set to receive their sentences at Dundee Sheriff Court on 5 August.

During the trial, it emerged that Belov greeted the girls in the Lochee area with phrases such as “hello sexy, I’ll show you a good time.” One of the girls responded by calling him a creep, which led Belov to return and call for his sister. She then arrived and assaulted one of the girls. Belov asserted that he pushed the girl after noticing what he believed to be a weapon on her, fearing for his sister’s safety. However, Sheriff Tim Niven-Smith dismissed Belov’s claim of self-defence, describing the testimony of the girls as “eloquent,” and ruled that their evidence was convincing beyond reasonable doubt.

Testimony from the injured 12-year-old revealed she only displayed a knife and an axe after being assaulted by Belov. The girl explained that her sister initially shouted at Belov following his remarks but was stopped by a friend. She also stated that Belova approached, pushed her, and threw her sister to the ground. When she attempted to intervene, Belov pushed her on the head, causing it to strike a handrail. Cross-examination revealed that Belov recorded her holding the weapons after the confrontation, and those weapons were later found nearby.

Belov described the incident differently, saying he was on his way to buy cigarettes with his father when the girls began making “cheeky remarks” and insults, including calling him a “(expletive) migrant.” Denying he used the phrases “hello sexy” or “I’ll show you a good time,” he claimed to have turned back out of continued disrespect, at which point the girls allegedly panicked. Concerned for his safety due to the increasing number of girls, he called his sister, who arrived and assaulted one of them. Belov stated he only saw the knife after pushing the girl and insisted he pushed her because he feared for safety. He further explained that after she fell, she got up, pulled out the weapons, and tried to approach them, which he documented on his phone.

During questioning, Prosecutor Michael Robertson challenged Belov, pointing out that as an adult, he could have left the situation. Belov agreed but said he felt compelled to understand why he was being disrespected. When asked why he contacted his sister instead of the police, Belov replied, “I thought we were in danger.” Robertson also highlighted that Belov did not see the weapon until after pushing the girl, though he maintained that he had noticed it earlier.

Following the verdict, a mother of one of the girls expressed relief, stating the guilty ruling was “a good thing.” She emphasized that the girls had spoken truthfully despite facing false accusations and described the distress of seeing her daughter “dragged about” in the CCTV footage shown at court as “heartbreaking.

Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More