2 hours ago
5
An asylum seeker staying at a hotel in Essex that became the focus of protests has been jailed for 12 months for the assault of a 14-year-old girl and a woman.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, who had been living in the Bell hotel in Epping, was found guilty last month of two counts of sexual assault and one of attempted sexual assault, committed days after arriving in the UK on a small boat.
Local anger over the case triggered protests outside the hotel over the summer, which far-right activists and others sought to exploit.
Kebatu wants to be deported after serving his time in prison, his lawyer told Chelmsford magistrates court. However, the absence of a formal extradition agreement between the UK and Ethiopia could complicate that process.
The 14-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by him said in a victim personal statement that she was now “checking over my shoulder” when she was out with friends.
The woman he assaulted said in her statement that he “did not even appear to know that what he’s done was wrong” and that she had felt angered and frustrated since the incident.
District judge Christopher Williams said Kebatu posed a “significant risk of reoffending” as he ordered him to sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years, and made him subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order. He also ordered that Kebatu pay £650 prosecution costs and a £187 victim surcharge.
The judge told Kebatu that his behaviour “really highlights the poor regard you must have for women”, adding that he was “feeling sorry for yourself, knowing you were well and truly caught”.
The judge agreed with the author of a pre-sentence report that Kebatu was “manipulative”. When interviewed by a probation officer, he raised a lack of English and mental health difficulties as reasons why he either could not remember what had happened or could not talk about the offending.
Williams also told him: “I’ve no doubt the author of the report is correct and you couldn’t have anticipated that your offending behaviour as an asylum seeker housed at the Bell hotel would cause such a response from the public, particularly in Epping but also across the UK, resulting in mass demonstrations and fear that children in the UK are not safe. It’s evident to me that your shame and remorse isn’t because of the offences you’ve committed, but because of the impact they’ve had.”
The area around the Bell hotel became the focus of unrest during the summer, with Essex police making dozens of arrests and charging more than 20 people in connection with incidents of disorder, which included officers being assaulted.
The political storm around the case continued on Tuesday, with the Conservative party accusing the government of failing to listen to local people in Epping.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “Justice has now been served and the government must now deport this criminal immediately. The reality is this vile crime should never have been allowed to happen.”
There is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Ethiopia. In August the then home secretary, Yvette Cooper, expanded extradition schemes to 23 countries but Ethiopia was not one of them.
There are just under 11,000 foreign offenders in prisons in England and Wales. When Shabana Mahmood, now the home secretary, was justice secretary, she said the government was going to expand plans for the immediate deportation of foreign criminals once they had received a custodial sentence.
Reacting to the sentencing, Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper of Essex police said the conviction had only been achieved because of the bravery of two women, but added: “No crime can become an excuse for what we’ve seen at times in Epping throughout the summer.”
