Overview

• Colchester Magistrates’ Court played police interviews with two 14-year-old boys who said Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu asked their friend to “have babies,” proposed going to Kenya, and followed the group.
• One boy said Kebatu claimed he paid about €2,500 to reach the UK on a rubber dinghy only days before the alleged incidents.
• An adult woman told the court he put his hand on her thigh and tried to kiss her after she offered help with his CV, saying she felt shocked and later called 999.
• Kebatu, 38, testified through a Tigrinya interpreter that he did not touch the teenager, saying “I’m not a wild animal,” and claimed he knelt to apologise only to calm a “drunk” accuser.
• He denies two counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault, inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and harassment without violence; protests form the backdrop to the case and a Court of Appeal hearing on the Bell Hotel’s use is listed for Thursday.