Epping hotel migrant who tried to kiss schoolgirl in sexual assault case faces jail as protests erupt
38-year-old Ethiopian asylum seeker Kebatu convicted of five offences; sentencing due; protests linked to Bell Hotel case spread to cities nationwide.
An asylum seeker living at the Bell Hotel in Epping has been found guilty of five offences after a three-day trial at Chelmsford and Colchester magistrates' courts, according to prosecutors. Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, who arrived in the United Kingdom in a small boat eight days before the alleged offences, was convicted of two counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence. District Judge Christopher Williams said Kebatu could expect an immediate custodial sentence when he is sentenced at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
During the trial, Kebatu is alleged to have told two teenagers he wanted to 'have a baby with each of them' and asked to take them back to the Bell Hotel where he was staying. The court heard he repeated the advances the following day, placed his hand on the thigh of one girl and stroked her hair. He is also accused of sexually assaulting a woman who intervened by trying to kiss her, touching her leg and telling her she was pretty.
Protests erupted after Kebatu’s arrest, with demonstrators gathering in Epping to voice concern about asylum seekers housed at the Bell Hotel. Epping Forest District Council announced last month that it would take its case to shut down the Bell Hotel to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal overturned a temporary High Court injunction that would have forced the 138 asylum seekers there to leave by September 12. It argued Somani Hotels had breached planning rules by not notifying Epping of its plans for the Bell.
That ruling, which supported the hotel chain and Home Office, sparked outrage and triggered protests in other cities across the country amid accusations that the government was 'taking the side of migrants over Britons'. Several other councils have since pledged to pursue legal action to remove asylum seekers from hotels following the ruling. Labour-led councils including Wirral, Stevenage, Tamworth and Rushmoor are among those pursuing bids against the government.
The case underscores ongoing tensions over asylum seeker housing as the government navigates legal challenges and local opposition, with authorities in several regions signaling readiness to pursue further court action while awaiting Kebatu’s sentencing next week.