A migrant sex offender who was mistakenly released from prison on Friday has been arrested in London, ending a two-day manhunt. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu is an Ethiopian national convicted of sexual offences. He was found in the Finsbury Park area at around 8.30am on Sunday, the Metropolitan Police said.Metropolitan Police Commander James Conway, who led the operation, said: “This has been a diligent and fast-paced investigation led by specialist officers from the Metropolitan Police, supported by Essex Police and the British Transport Police. Information from the public led officers to Finsbury Park and, following a search, they located Mr Kebatu. He was detained by police but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service. I am extremely grateful to the public for their support following our appeal, which assisted in locating Mr Kebatu.”
Kebatu was about to be deported
Cabinet minister Wes Streeting said there must be accountability for the “egregious failure” that allowed Kebatu’s release. Speaking on Sky News, the Health Secretary said: “This man was behind bars because of serious sex offences. He is not meant to be in this country. In fact, what was supposed to be happening is he was meant to be transferred for deportation. So the idea that he’s loose on our streets is incredibly serious. It is a serious failure.” Justice Secretary David Lammy has launched an investigation into the incident. “We know that one prison officer has been suspended already, but there does need to be accountability for such an egregious failure,” Streeting added.
About the arrest
Kebatu, who had been living at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, was jailed for 12 months in September for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre, he was wrongly released from HMP Chelmsford. On Friday, he took a train from Chelmsford to Stratford, east London, arriving at 1.12pm, and then travelled around London using his own funds.Court documents revealed Kebatu arrived in the UK on a small boat eight days before committing his offences in July. He was found guilty of five sexual offences after a three-day trial at Chelmsford and Colchester magistrates’ courts. The trial heard that he made inappropriate comments to a 14-year-old girl before attempting to kiss her, and the next day sexually assaulted a woman, putting his hand on her leg and telling her she was pretty. The woman later called 999 after seeing him behave inappropriately towards the same girl wearing her school uniform.The Prison Service reported that 262 prisoners were released in error in England and Wales in the 12 months to March, a 128% increase from the previous year. HM Inspectorate of Prisons noted in a report earlier this year that HMP Chelmsford was under considerable pressure due to national capacity issues and staff shortages in reception and the pre-release team.