'Sex offender' is accused of failing to notify police of trip to Bulgaria, Antrim Magistrates Court told
A man is accused of failing to notify police he was travelling to Bulgaria which he was required to do in relation to the Sexual Offences Act.
Nicolas Ivanov (28), with an address listed as Ballyclug Mews in Ballymena, is charged in relation to January 20 this year. He is also charged with assaulting a woman and causing criminal damage to a wall on September 7 this year.
The accused appeared in the dock at Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena, on Tuesday. He had the assistance of a Bulgarian language interpreter.
A police officer said the defendant was a registered sex offender after being convicted of a "sexual assault of a minor in Bulgaria in 2017". The court was told the defendant had gone to Bulgaria earlier this year and had not notified police.
In relation to an incident on Sunday September 7 it was alleged the defendant trailed his partner by the hair and kicked her legs and punched her head at Ballyclug Mews. It was alleged he punched a hole in a bedroom wall.
A defence solicitor said the defendant had "gone to Bulgaria to obtain papers from court officials to show that he had not been convicted of any sexual offence". The lawyer said there are documents "confirming his innocence".
District Judge Nigel Broderick said the official documents showed the defendant had such a record. The solicitor said the defendant does not accept he was convicted of a sexual offence in Bulgaria.
The court was told the defendant had been working at a car wash in Derry/Londonderry but is now unemployed.
The solicitor said the defendant had gone to his partner's address in Ballymena on September 7 to "retrieve" items. He said the defendant had no intention of leaving Northern Ireland but he could surrender his passport and ID if necessary.
"The only time he has gone to Bulgaria is to prove his innocence, which I need to further explore," said the solicitor.
Judge Broderick refused bail on the grounds of risk of flight and said a proposed bail address in Ballymena was too close to the complainant's address. The case was adjourned to October 2.