Manhunt for Epping hotel asylum seeker, jailed for sexually assaulting girl, after accidental release
A manhunt has been launched for an asylum seeker who was jailed for 12 months earlier this year after he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 41, had been staying at The Bell Hotel in the Essex town, with the incident fuelling weeks of protests at the site.
The Ethiopian national was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and harassment without violence earlier this month.
District judge Christopher Williams said Kebatu posed a “significant risk of reoffending” when he sentenced him to 12 months in prison.
Sky News understands Hadush Kebatu was being released from prison as he was due to be immediately deported.
He was released on the expectation that he would be picked up by immigration enforcement, but it is currently unclear what happened next.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was jailed for two sexual assaults in Epping. Pic: Essex Police / PA
Sky sources say the search for Kebatu is within Essex Police, which launched a manhunt in Chelmsford.
Kebatu’s lawyer, Molly Dyas, told Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court during his trial that it was his “firm wish” to be deported.
Under the UK Borders Act 2007, a deportation order must be made where a foreign national has been convicted of an offence and received a custodial sentence of at least 12 months.
Local MP Marie Goldman said in a statement following the accidental release: “I am closely following developments and am in contact with the police and the prison.
“The police must do everything they can to ensure that this man is returned to custody immediately so that he is deported at once.
“Once the manhunt is over, there must be a full, rapid public inquiry into how this happened. This is utterly unacceptable and has potentially put my constituents in danger. I expect answers from the Prison Service.”
The court heard that the asylum seeker had tried to kiss the teenager, put his hand on her thigh and brushed her hair after she offered him pizza.
The asylum seeker also told the girl and her friend he wanted to have a baby with them and invited them back to the hotel.
The incident happened on 7 July, about a week after he arrived in the UK on a boat.
Kebatu was staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping. Pic: PA
The girl later told police she “froze” and got “really creeped out”, telling him: “No, I’m 14.”
Kebatu was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman – putting his hand on her thigh and trying to kiss her – when she tried to intervene after seeing him talking to the girl again the following day.
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