Migrant sex offender arrested after being released from prison in error

An immigrant who was mistakenly released from prison was found in north London and taken back into custody following a massive manhunt, the Metropolitan Police said.

Hadush Kebatu was found in the Finsbury Park area at 08:30 GMT on Sunday morning, two days after he was mistakenly released by HMP Chelmsford.

Kebatu, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman while living in an asylum hotel in Epping last month, was mistakenly released rather than deported.

The Met Police said Kebatu was taken into police custody and “will be extradited to the Prison Service”.

Commander James Conway, who oversaw the operation to find Kebatu, said: “This was a painstaking and fast-paced investigation carried out by specialist officers from the Metropolitan Police, supported by Essex Police and British Transport Police (BTP).

“Information from the public led officers to Finsbury Park and following a search they located Mr Kebatu.

“I am extremely grateful to the public for their support following our appeal which helped locate Mr Kebatu.”

Essex Police first noted that Kebatu was mistakenly released at 12.57pm on Friday, but that he had boarded a train to east London 16 minutes earlier.

He was captured by security cameras at a Dalston-area library on Friday evening wearing a gray prison-themed tracksuit and carrying a white bag with pictures of avocados on it.

Kebatu’s arrest in July It led to protests outside the Bell Hotel in EppingHe had lived here since arriving in the UK on a small boat.

In September Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard Kebatu tried to kiss a young girl on a bench and made several suggestive comments.

The next day he encountered the same girl and tried to kiss her before sexually assaulting her. He also sexually assaulted a woman who offered to help him prepare a resume to find a job.

When Kebatu appeared in court, he gave his age as 38, but the judge said information had been seen showing he was 41 years old.

He denied the charges against him but was found guilty of five counts last month and sentenced to 12 months in prison, including time spent in jail while awaiting trial. He spent 108 days in prison in total.

Kebatu was also given a five-year sexual harm prevention order banning him from approaching or contacting any female and was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

During his trial, the court heard Kebatu had a “firm wish” to be deported. Under UK Border Act 2007A deportation order must be made if a foreign national is convicted of a crime and sentenced to at least 12 months in prison.

Justice Secretary David Lammy ordered an independent investigation into Kebatu’s release, while HM Prison Service instructed governors in England and Wales to carry out additional checks before prisoners are released by Monday.

A prison officer has been suspended pending an investigation, but a senior prison official told BBC News the discharge was “probably due to a series of errors due to overwork by staff and inadequate resources”.

They continued: “It’s not just a prison office that is to blame. That would be unfair.”

Health Minister Wes Streeting told the BBC the arrest was a “huge relief” and said Kebatu “will now be deported”.

He continued: “The Minister of Justice has ordered an investigation into how a dangerous man who should have been deported was released onto our streets.

“This study is ongoing, and we will be open and transparent with the public about what went wrong and what we will do about it.”

He has previously said the Prison Service is under enormous pressure “but even in those circumstances that does not explain or excuse the release of people on our streets who have no business there”.

Former Conservative Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said the investigation was needed to “learn lessons” and suggested the incident was symptomatic of wider problems in the prison system.

He told BBC Breakfast: “The entire annual budget of the Ministry of Justice is spent in two weeks by the Department for Work and Pensions.

“My ongoing plea is to try to ensure that the prison service gets the resources it needs to make sure we recruit and retain people with the skills and experience to ensure these problems do not happen.”

Liberal Democrat Chelmsford MP Marie Goldman said Kebatu “must be deported now” and also pressed for a national inquiry.

Earlier, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the incident showed the UK’s “once trusted institutions”, including the police and prisons, were “falling apart before our eyes”.

A report from Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service said 262 prisoners were mistakenly released between April 2024 and March 2025, when the number of prisoners in England and Wales was 115 in the previous 12 months.