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British police are still searching for Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sexual offender who was mistakenly released from prison rather than sent to an immigration detention facility.
The case of 38-year-old Kebatu, whose sexual assaults earlier this year sparked widespread anti-immigration protests, has caused outrage across the UK.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the “totally unacceptable” blunder, insisting that Kebatu “must be caught and deported for his crimes.”
Kebatu had served just one month of a 12-month prison sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and an adult woman when he was wrongly freed.
According to reports, he was due to be deported but was instead released in error after being mistakenly classified as eligible for early release.
Justice Secretary David Lammy confirmed late on Friday that Kebatu was last seen boarding a train to London from Chelmsford in eastern England.
He said authorities were working “around the clock” to find him.
Essex Police, leading the search with support from the Metropolitan Police, said on Saturday that “enquiries are continuing at pace to locate and arrest” Kebatu.
Officers have been reviewing hours of CCTV footage in a bid to track his movements.
“It is not lost on us that this situation is concerning to people,” the force said, acknowledging public alarm.
According to The Telegraph, Kebatu was wrongly categorised as a prisoner due for release on licence and even received a £76 discharge grant upon his release.
The father of Kebatu’s teenage victim told Sky News that “the justice system has let us down,” expressing anger at the mistake.
Kebatu was arrested in July after attempting to kiss and touch a 14-year-old girl while making explicit comments.
He also sexually assaulted an adult woman who tried to intervene.
At the time of the attacks, Kebatu was living at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex — accommodation used to house asylum seekers — which later became a flashpoint for anti-immigration demonstrations.
