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A Bulgarian man has been found guilty of assaulting a 12-year-old girl during an incident in Dundee last year.

Ilia Belov, 22, was also convicted of behaving in a “threatening or abusive manner” towards four girls, all of whom were aged between 12 and 14.

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

During a two-day trial, Dundee Sheriff Court heard the 12-year-old had been walking with a group of girls on their way to a bus stop when Belov made s*xual remarks to her.

Giving evidence by video-link, the girl, who is now 13, recalled: “He kept saying, ‘come here s*xy. 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 hiding 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 (the other girl)”.

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 with the assistance of a Bulgarian interpreter, 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 s*xualised remarks to the girls, telling the court they had been saying derogatory things to him, including calling him a “f****** migrant”.

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

“For a number of reasons I find your evidence to be wholly unconvincing and self-serving,” he said.

“It is, as was suggested by the prosecution, a revisionist or excuse.

“It is a curious set of circumstances that having been alerted to (a girl) in possession of a knife… having pushed the person in possession of the knife to the ground, you turn your back upon her.

“It is not for me to speculate, but common sense would suggest that if someone had a knife you would pay particular attention to the individual with (it), for fear that they attack you with it.”

He said the girl’s evidence was supported by that of two other members of the group, and by CCTV footage of the incident that was shown to the court.

He told Belov: “I am entirely satisfied by proof beyond reasonable doubt that the trigger for all of this were the comments that you made.

“I accept that as a result of the comments you made abuse was directed at you, which included swear words, including you being called a ‘f****** creep and an immigrant’.

“The words of the children were eloquent to describe your behaviour given your age and their respective ages.”

He went on: “Having made the s*xual remarks to the children you then, enraged by the fact that they became angry and started shouting abuse at you, followed them.”

He said rather than leave the area or call the police he instead called his sister, who “immediately on arrival engaged in attacking one of the females”.

He also told Belov he rejected his claim that he had seen a knife under the girl’s T-shirt before pushing her.

The sheriff said: “I am entirely satisfied… taking (the girls’ evidence) together with the video footage, that you assaulted (the girl).”

Belov, who appeared in court dressed in black trousers and a white puffer jacket, showed no reaction as the verdicts were handed down.

The pair are due to be sentenced on August 5..

A 'wicked' and 'evil' s*x predator jailed for child s*x offences died in prison from an agonising form of cancer.

Harold Wharton died aged 75 at HMP Northumberland

He was jailed for ten years in February 2024 after being convicted of six counts of indecent assault on a girl who was aged under 13, in the 1980s, along with two counts of inciting the same victim to commit an act of gross indecency.

A report published this week revealed he died in prolonged agony after suffering multi organ failure caused by oesophageal cancer.

A coroner concluded he died of natural causes.

He had previously served a five-year prison sentence in 1990 for r**e and indecent assault against a different victim.

An investigation into his death was carried out by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

No non-clinical concerns were identified regarding his care and no recommendations were made.

His victim branded him a "monster with no remorse" as he was jailed at Preston Crown Court

The court heard the abuse began while the defendant, of Ripley Avenue in North Shields, was living in Dalton-in-Furness in the North West.

Jailing him at Preston Crown Court, His Honour Judge Darren Preston said: “You are a predator. A wicked individual who preys on children for your own perverted s*xual desires.

“Your victim has had to live with the psychological impact you caused her. She was brave to stand in front of you to make sure you understand the damage you caused. You are a man with no shame and have never shown any remorse.

A pa******le once caught with a manual on how to groom and r**e children is back behind bars after downloading hundreds of sickening images.

Daryl Stokes was already under s*x offender management when police found his latest catalogue of indecent images of children.

He was jailed for five years and three months in August 2022 after police found hours of footage showing babies and children being s*xually abused on a mobile phone in his loft.

The online pa******le manual was also discovered, containing graphic content on how to abuse children and prevent parents finding out.

Stokes was caught again in August 2025 after his management team suspected him of committing further offences.

Police subsequently found more than 800 images of abuse - 409 in the most serious category - which were deemed by the detective investigating as the worst he had seen.

In January, 46-year-old Stokes, of no fixed abode but previously of Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to making the indecent photographs and two breaches of a S*xual Harm Prevention Order.

He had initially been given the order, and a 17-month jail sentence, in 2020 for making indecent images of children.

At his latest sentencing hearing at Teesside Crown Court, Stokes was given an extended jail sentence of three years and eight months' imprisonment with an additional three on extended licence.

He will remain on the s*x offenders’ register for life.

The brave victim of a South West pa******le who groomed and indecently assaulted her when she was just a child has spoken of the 25 years of nightmares, flashbacks and triggers that have plagued her life.

In a powerful victim impact statement she read out in court, the mum told of how the s*xual abuse she suffered at the hands of Simon Tanton in Devon as a child has impacted her in every aspect of her life.

Reading her statement to the court during a sentencing hearing at Truro Crown Court today (Wednesday, June 10), the woman said what Tanton did to her has led to anxiety, depression, becoming self conscious about her body and even self-harming.

She told the court: "I started self-harming my arms and breast as a child. I would have chopped off my breast if I could."

Tanton's victim said that what he did to her has led her to being wary around men to the point she finds it near impossible to give her own dad and grandad a hug when they have done nothing wrong except being loving and supportive.

She said she has become overprotective of her own children and finds situations involving certain songs or certain foods trigger panic attacks, eating disorders and anxiety.

She has also been off sick from work for several months as a result of the stress the abuse and court trauma have put on her mental health.

Even hearing someone with a Devon accent can be a trigger as it is where the abuse took place when she was a child.

The brave mum also told the court how going through the horrendous trauma of giving evidence in court has been hell and set her back on her path to recovery.

"I wish I could cuddle my dad but I can't because of what Simon did to me," she told the court. "It has really impacted by relationship to my dad."

Tanton, 45, now of Rapson Road in Liskeard, was found guilty by a jury following a recent trial at Truro Crown Court of six counts of indecent assault of a child in connections with the offences.

His Honour Judge Simon Carr said the abuse Tanton's victim suffered has been life-long and devastating.

"Everything you did to her as a child continues to affect her 25 years on," Judge Carr told Tanton. "Certain music tracks are triggers. She still has nightmares. It proves that this type of offences harms people for the rest of their lives. You are the proof of that.

"You didn't have 25 years of nightmares but got on with your life. That was denied to your victim."

Judge Carr sentenced Tanton to 16 years in prison including one year on extended licence. Tanton will serve two thirds before being eligible for parole.

He will also be on the s*x offenders' register for life and a restraining order not to contact his victim was also imposed for life.

This is woman be**er Callum Peacock.

He battered his girlfriend with a golf club, threw bleach and paint at her, and burned a memorial shirt of her deceased grandmother but has somehow avoided an immediate prison sentence.

The 19-year-old defendant, from St Helens, subjected his partner to a cruel three-hour ordeal inside their home.

Police officers arrived at the flat to find the victim covered in white paint and curled up in a ball on the bathroom floor.

She was audibly sobbing and shrieking through a hole in the door, which was still smouldering and smoking.

During the assault, the teenager hit her with a broom handle and a golf club before putting her in a chokehold from behind.

When she tried to hide in the bathroom, he smashed the door with the golf club and used an aerosol and a lighter to set fire to it.

He then threw dumbbells and a bottle of bleach at her, causing the liquid to splash onto her body.

In what was described in court as an extremely selfish act, he took hold of a memorial t-shirt featuring a photograph of her deceased grandmother.

He set fire to the garment right in front of her while telling her that her nan would rot in hell.

The attack came just two days after another incident where he struck his girlfriend with a hammer following an argument.

Following his arrest, he openly threatened his victim in front of police officers, stating that he was going to smash her face in when he got out.

But he has now walked free from court after a judge handed him an 18-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months.

The court heard he had already spent nearly five months in custody on remand, which the judge noted was the equivalent of a nine-month sentence for a teenager with no previous convictions.

He was also given a five-year restraining order and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days.