Migrant sex offender mistakenly released from prison deported to Ethiopia

Hadush Kebatu has arrived in Ethiopia after being deported from the UK with no right to return, the Home Office has confirmed.

The Ethiopian national was wrongly freed from HMP Chelmsford on Friday morning instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre.

The migrant, who had been living at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, when he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman, travelled to London and was arrested on Sunday morning after a two-day manhunt.

He was deported to Ethiopia on Tuesday night, arriving on Wednesday morning.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Last week’s blunder should never have happened – and I share the public’s anger that it did. I would like to thank the police for rapidly bringing Mr Kebatu into custody and the public for their vigilance.

“I have pulled every lever to deport Mr Kebatu and remove him off British soil. I am pleased to confirm this vile child sex offender has been deported. Our streets are safer because of it.

“If you come to this country and commit crimes, we will remove you.”

The incident has prompted an independent inquiry to find out what went wrong and a prison officer has been suspended while the probe is carried out.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said the incident was “unacceptable”.

“We must get to the bottom of what happened,” he said.

“I have established an independent investigation chaired by Dame Lynne Owens into last Friday’s events to get the public the answers they rightly deserve, and we have introduced the strictest checks ever seen in our prison system to stop similar unacceptable errors in future.”

Mr Lammy told MPs on Monday that Kebatu was released in “what appears to have been in human error”.

His case has renewed scrutiny of prison procedures after a series of mistaken releases across the country.

Prison Officers’ Association national chairman Mark Fairhurst said more incidents have taken place in a week.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Fairhurst said Prison Service leaders have known mistaken releases have been a “regular occurrence” for the last year.

He added: “Over the last seven days, there’s been five releases in errors from five separate prisons.”

Mr Fairhurst told the PA news agency that two mistaken releases were made from HMP Pentonville, in north London, with the others at HMP Durham, The Mount prison in Hertfordshire and from Reading Crown Court.

No prison officers have been suspended over the other five releases, he said.

The Ministry of Justice disputed the number of prisoners released in error but confirmed some took place in the last seven days.

One prisoner is still at large after being mistakenly freed, it is understood.

According to Government figures published in July, 262 prisoners were released in error in the year to March 2025 – a 128% increase on 115 in the previous 12 months.

It is understood that Kebatu, who crossed the Channel in a small boat to enter the UK on June 29, left prison with some personal money but did not receive a discharge grant.

He was convicted of making inappropriate comments to a 14-year-old girl before trying to kiss her on July 7,  just eight days after his arrival.

His trial heard the following day, he sexually assaulted a woman by attempting to kiss her, placing his hand on her leg, and telling her she was “pretty”.

After a three-day trial at Chelmsford and Colchester Magistrates’ Courts in September, Kebatu was found guilty of five offences.

His crimes sparked protests on the streets of Epping, spreading to demonstrations outside hotels housing asylum seekers across the country.