Asylum seeker ‘sexually assaulted girl' days after boat crossing

Times

5 days ago

An asylum seeker has been accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl eight days after he arrived in Britain on a boat, prompting a protest outside the hotel where he had been housed.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, appeared at Colchester magistrates' court last week charged with three counts of sexual assault, one of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one of harassment without violence. He denies the charges, which relate to two teenagers and a woman.
On Sunday evening a protest by about 300 people outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, descended into violence and police were forced to intervene when a fist fight broke out between two men. At least two people suffered injuries, but Essex police reported no arrests.
Among those who attended the protest were well known far-right activists including Callum Barker, a former member of Patriotic Alternative who later left the neo-Nazi organisation to join the splinter group Homeland, according to Hope Not Hate.
Julian Leppert, a former councillor for the For Britain Movement who in 2020 endorsed the idea of making Epping a white-only town, was also there. In the days leading up to the protest, both men had been active on a local Facebook group with nearly 30,000 members.
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People living near the hotel described the protest as 'intimidating'.
One woman said she was accosted by a group of protesters with an XL bully dog as she walked home. After she asked them to bring the dog to heel, they began filming her, asking her whether she supported the migrants' right to live in the hotel and telling her that the migrants would abuse her and her daughter.
'I would much prefer it if the hotel was turned back to how it was before,' said the woman, who asked not to be named. 'But at the same time I've never had any problem with them, and I felt far more intimidated by those protesters than I ever have done by the migrants.'
Kebatu appeared in court on Thursday, days after the alleged offences last Monday and Tuesday. Serena Berry, for the prosecution, told the 45-minute hearing that one of the alleged victims had been approached 'on a busy high street'.
She said Kebatu had 'no ties to anyone or any place in the UK', adding: 'Immigration have confirmed he has only been in the UK since June 29.'
Raphael Pigott, for the defence, said: 'I believe he is here as a refugee or asylum seeker, and that he arrived informally on a boat.' Kebatu was remanded in custody to appear at Chelmsford magistrates' court on Thursday.
Following his arrest, Chris Whitbread, the leader of Epping Forest district council, wrote to the Home Office demanding that the hotel be shut down. A petition organised by Whitbread calling for the closure of the Bell, which has housed migrants since 2020, has received more than 4,500 signatures.
'We are also deeply concerned about rising community tensions,' the petition says. 'Epping Forest has a history of extreme far-right activity, including the presence of groups such as the Homeland Party and previously elected British National Party councillors.
'The government's inaction risks fuelling division and undermining community cohesion. Our community feels ignored and let down. Epping Forest has been forced to carry an unfair burden in the ongoing illegal immigration crisis.'