Manhunt for Epping hotel asylum seeker, jailed for sexually assaulting girl, after accidental release

A manhunt has been launched for an accidentally released 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 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.

Follow the latest updates on the manhunt

District judge Christopher Williams said Kebatu posed a "significant risk of reoffending" when he sentenced him to 12 months in prison in September.

Sky News understands Kebatu was being released from HMP Chelmsford 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. It is understood that the Home Office was ready to take Kebatu to an immigration removal centre.

Essex Police launched a manhunt for Kebatu after he was accidentally freed on Friday morning, and the force said in a statement that the asylum seeker boarded a train to London shortly after midday.

"We were informed by the prison service at 12.57pm today of an error this morning surrounding the release of an individual," Essex police said in a statement.

The force added that "fast-paced enquiries have shown that the man boarded a London-bound train at Chelmsford Railway Station at 12.41pm".

The Greater Anglia train stopped at Shenfield and Stratford before arriving at London Liverpool Street at 13.18pm, according to Trainline data.

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy said Kebatu was "at large in London", with three police forces - Essex Police, Metropolitan Police and British Transport Police - searching for the "dangerous" asylum seeker.

"I'm livid. I'm livid on behalf of the public that this individual who committed a sexual assault on a young minor and a woman is at large tonight," Mr Lammy said, adding: "He should not have been released in this way."

The father of the 14-year-old girl who was assaulted by Kebatu was visibly upset as he turned up at Chelmsford jail asking for answers after his daughter's assailant was accidentally released.

He told Sky News' home news correspondent Mollie Malone that he felt "let down" by every authority, and "frustrated" at the thought of Kebatu being able to escape prison custody, after attacking his daughter in the summer.

"The justice system has let us down," the girl's father said.

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.

Sir Keir Starmer called the mistaken release of Kebatu "totally unacceptable" and urged that he "must be caught".

The prime minister said he was "appalled that it has happened", adding: "The police are working urgently to track him down, and my government is supporting them."

Mr Lammy is also said to be furious and has ordered an investigation. He said in a post on X: "Kebatu must be deported for his crimes, not on our streets."

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: "The Epping hotel migrant sex attacker has been accidentally freed rather than deported. He is now walking the streets of Essex. Britain is broken."

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Kebatu was released as a result of "the entire system collapsing under Labour".

Chelmsford MP Marie Goldman called the accidental release a "cock-up" that leaves "huge questions to be answered", adding: "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 Prison Service said in a statement that it was "urgently working with police to return an offender to custody following a release in error at HMP Chelmsford" and launched an investigation into the incident.

It is understood that releases in error are incredibly rare and are taken extremely seriously by the Prison Service.

But policing and crime commentator Danny Shadow says that releases in error are actually not uncommon.

"Last year, there were 87 prisoners who were released in error. So that's around six or so every single month. Seventy were released from error from prisons and another 17 from the courts," the former Labour home affairs advisor told Sky News.

An officer has been removed from duties to discharge prisoners while the investigation is ongoing.

During his trial, the court heard that Kebatu 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 14-year-old 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.

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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.

Sentencing Kebatu last month, a judge told him his behaviour "really highlights the poor regard you must have for women".

The incidents sparked anti-migrant protests and counter-protests outside the former Bell Hotel in Epping - as well as at hotels housing asylum seekers across the country.

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