Met police urge Epping sex offender spotted in London to hand himself in | Prisons and probation

Police searching for a former asylum seeker and convicted sex offender who was mistakenly released from prison in London have appealed for him to surrender.

Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was sentenced to 12 months in prison and made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order for sexually assaulting a woman and a 14-year-old girl in September.

According to the Metropolitan Police, Kebatu, who was released wearing a prison-issued gray tracksuit and carrying a plastic bag containing his belongings, has made several train journeys in London since his release on Friday.

A senior Met police officer appealed directly to Kebatu on Saturday morning to contact the force, which was handed responsibility for the investigation.

“We want to locate you in a safe and controlled manner,” Commander James Conway said.

“You have already expressed your wish to return to Ethiopia when you spoke to immigration staff. The best outcome for you is to contact us directly by calling 999 or reporting yourself to a police station.”

He urged anyone “who sees him, knows where he is or has any information” to call 999 immediately, adding that police believe Kebatu “has access to funds, and critically, in both Chelmsford and London, sought assistance from members of the public, and has spoken to station staff”.

In an update on Saturday evening, the Met said officers confirmed Kebatu was last seen in the Dalston area of ​​Hackney shortly before 8pm on Friday evening.

“He still wore the top and bottom of his gray tracksuit from prison, but now carries his belongings in a distinctive white bag with images of avocados on it,” the Met said.

“Additional officers have been deployed to the area to carry out further searches, but we are appealing to local residents to report any sightings as soon as possible.”

The 41-year-old was supposed to be sent to an immigration detention center for deportation but it emerged he was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford in Essex.

A delivery driver described seeing Kebatu return to HMP Chelmsford “four or five times” in a “very confused” situation, only to be turned away by prison staff and directed to the train station.

The driver, identified only as Sim, told Sky News he saw Kebatu leaving the prison and asked: “Where am I going? What am I doing?” and lingered for about 1½ hours trying to figure out where he should go.

He said he knew Kebatu should be deported, but prison staff “basically pushed him away” and told him: “Go, you’re released, go.”

The driver said: “He was scratching his head and saying, ‘Where do I go, where do I go?’ he said. For the fourth or fifth time [he went into the reception] He was starting to get upset and stressed. I don’t stand behind the guy, but in my eyes he was trying to do the right thing.

“He knew he was going to be deported, but he didn’t know where he was going or how he was supposed to get there.”

Kebatu is later seen asking for help in Chelmsford town center before boarding the train to London.

Essex police confirmed Kebatu was seen boarding the train at Chelmsford railway station at 12.41am on Friday. Met police confirmed he was seen getting off the train in Stratford, east London, at around 1.10pm on Friday.

As a result, the Met was given responsibility for the investigation on Saturday morning, police said.

Conway has previously said finding Kebatu is “the number one priority” for the Met.

He added: “The manhunt is being led by an experienced senior investigating officer. “The police have teams from specialist crime command and other resources from across the Met with expertise in tracking down wanted people.

“We are examining CCTV” [Stratford] and further afield, including the transportation network, to learn about their further movements.

A statement from Essex police on Saturday morning said officers were “working through the night” to track Kebatu’s movements, including “combing through hours of CCTV footage”.

Prison Service sources said the evacuation of HMP Chelmsford was due to human error. While the urgent investigation continues, it is understood that the prison officer who authorized the release has been dismissed.

According to the Telegraph, Kebatu was wrongly classified as a prisoner because he was released on licence, and received £76 in parole aid.

A prison source described the incident as “a disaster waiting to happen” as large numbers of releases were handled by inexperienced staff and dozens of inmates serving different schedules were released at the same time.

Aaron Stowe, president of the Criminal Justice Workers Union (CJWU), described Kebatu’s mistaken release as a “profound malpractice”.

He said: “The release of Hadush Kebatu is a betrayal of the victims, society and the principles of justice. We demand a thorough investigation and urgent reforms to ensure this never happens again.”

CJWU general secretary Mike Rolfe added: “The justice system is stretched to breaking point, public trust is collapsing and those charged with enforcing the law are being forced to pick up the pieces of political cowardice.”

The father of Kebatu’s teenage victim told Sky News: “We are let down by the justice system.”

A report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons following an inspection in January and February 2024 said HMP Chelmsford was facing “significant pressures” due to “national capacity issues” and was experiencing staff shortages in reception and pre-release team.

A spokesperson for the Prison Service said it had launched an investigation into the incident and was working “urgently” with the police to take Kebatu into custody, adding: “Public protection is our top priority.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the eviction was “completely unacceptable” and he was “appalled”.

Annual government data on prisons shows: 262 prisoners were released by mistake In the period until March 2025, there was a 128% increase compared to the previous year.

Kebatu was found guilty last month on five charges of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl after attempting to kiss her twice, sexually assaulting a woman and trying to kiss her.

He committed the crimes just days after arriving in the UK on a small boat and checking into the Bell Hotel in Epping. His case triggered protests outside the hotel, which far-right activists attempted to exploit; It led to attacks on police officers and the arrest of 32 people.

At his trial, district judge Christopher Williams said Kebatu posed a “risk of re-offending”, was “manipulative” and had acted “ignorantly and repulsively” towards the woman he attacked. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison and had only served 31 days when he was released.