Overview
- Chelmsford Magistrates' Court found Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu guilty of two counts of sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and harassment without violence.
- Prosecutors said he invited the 14-year-old to his Bell Hotel room to have babies, tried to kiss her, and touched her thigh, and later attempted to kiss and touch an adult woman who intervened.
- Kebatu denied the charges, told the court he was not a wild animal, and followed proceedings through a Tigrinya interpreter.
- He had arrived by small boat days earlier and was staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping, where his arrest led to demonstrations locally and at other hotels housing asylum seekers.
- The Bell Hotel remains in use for asylum accommodation after the Court of Appeal overturned a local injunction, and Essex Police say investigations into protest-related disorder continue with 32 arrests and 21 charges to date.