Hadush Kebatu release controversy
On 24 October 2025, Ethiopian sex offender Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was accidentally released from HMP Chelmsford while serving a year-long prison sentence.[1] He was deported to Ethiopia on the night of 28 October and arrived on 29 October.[2]
Background
Hadush Kebatu arrived in the United Kingdom on 29 June 2025. On 8 June 2025, he made sexually explicit remarks to a 14-year-old girl in Epping town centre. He sexually assaulted a woman, attempting to kiss her and tried to kiss the same girl he made remarks to the day before. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison on 23 September at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court and was made subject to a five-year sexual harm prevention order, which banned him from approaching or contacting any female.[3][4]
Release and deportation
On 24 October, Hadush Kebatu was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford under the expectation that he would be deported. Kebatu returned to prison about four or five times but was turned away and directed to a railway station. He arrived by train at Shenfield station, Brentwood and Essex Police were alerted to his mistaken release and launched a search operation. Kebatu got off the train at Stratford in East London at 1:12pm. By 8pm, he was seen in the Dalston area of Hackney.[5]
On 25 October, the Metropolitan Police took over the manhunt for Kebatu. At 8:30am on 26 October, Met Police arrested Kebatu at Finsbury Park.[5]
Reactions
The father of the teenage girl sexually assaulted by Kebatu told Sky News, he was "frustrated" at the thought of Kebatu being released and said "The justice system has let us down".[6][7]
Marie Goldman, MP for Chelmsford said she was "appalled, frustrated and angry about how this could possibly happen in the first place."[6] and called for a "rapid, national inquiry" into the release.[3] Prime Minister Keir Starmer said "We must make sure this doesn't happen again. We have ordered an investigation to establish what went wrong.".[8]
Protests
Protests first began on 13 July at The Bell Hotel in Epping where Hadush Kebatu was staying, which was being used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers. During the protests, two security personnel at the hotel were left with serious injuries after being attacked by a group of men.[9]
References
- ↑ Lewis Adams (5 November 2025). "Review begins into Epping sex offender's release". BBC News. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
- ↑ "Deported migrant sex offender given £500 to leave country". Sky News. 29 October 2025. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Rajeev Syal (27 October 2025). "What does mistaken release of Hadush Kebatu say about state of prisons in England and Wales?". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
- ↑ "Epping: Man jailed over sexual assaults". 23 September 2025. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Timeline of how manhunt for wrongly released sex offender migrant Hadush Kebatu unfolded". Sky News. 26 October 2025. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Father of teenage girl sexually assaulted by migrant sex offender reacts to his accidental release". Sky News. 25 October 2025. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
- ↑ Athena Stavrou (29 October 2025). "Migrant sex offender deported after being mistakenly released from prison". Independent. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
- ↑ Matthew Weaver (26 October 2025). "Epping sex offender back in custody after release from prison in error". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
- ↑ Shivani Chaudhari; Aimee Dexter (16 July 2025). "Staff assaulted in 'racially aggravated' attack". BBC News. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
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