A MIGRANT mistakenly released from prison “tried to get a free night’s stay” at a hotel in east London.
Ethiopian national Hadush Kebatu freed from HMP Chelmsford was seen in a library in Dalston and later at the nearby Premier Inn, we can reveal.
But despite the manhunt centering on his movements in London, working staff in the area said they had not seen police “all day”.
It comes after the sex offender migrant was last spotted donning his prison tracksuit and carrying an avocado and egg bag.
Kebatu, 41, had previously tried to go back to his prison four or five times as he stood outside for 90 minutes asking for help.
Shocking new CCTV emerged of Kebatu with his avocado bag casually strolling inside a library in Dalston, East London, at around 6pm – as the police hunt for him grows increasingly desperate.
Police said he was seen carrying belongings “in a distinctive white bag with pictures of avocados on it”.
“Additional officers have been deployed to the area to carry out further searches, but we are appealing for the help of local residents to report any sightings as soon as possible,” authorities said.
It comes after blundering prison staff gave Kebatu directions to the nearest train station in Friday’s astonishing gaffe.
Staggering new details of his bungled release emerged yesterday – as it was also revealed his 14-year-old victim is scared of going out in case she bumps into him.
Police said Kebatu had made several train journeys across London travelling from Chelmsford, Essex, to Stratford.
Kebatu was jailed in July after sexually assaulting a girl near The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, where he was staying.
It is understood he was freed from prison on the expectation he would be picked up by immigration officers and deported.
Kebatu was last seen on Friday evening in Dalston, Hackney, according to cops.
On Friday, a delivery driver named only as Sim said he saw Kebatu outside Chelmsford jail on Friday at around 10.10am looking “very confused”.
He said: “He came out of the airlock, and kept saying to the officers there: ‘Where am I going? What am I doing?’
“He was holding a pack of paperwork in his arms, and his bag of bits. He knew he’d be deported.
“He came over to me and said: ‘I need you to help me.’”
Sim claimed officers had no interest in helping Kebatu.
He added: “The fourth or fifth time he went back (to reception) he was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed.
“Nobody was there to pick him up and nobody was telling him where to go or what to do.
“They were basically sending him away and saying to him: ‘Go, you’ve been released, you go.’
“He wasn’t trying to run off, he was standing around for at least an hour and a half.
“Eventually one of the prison officers gave him directions to the train station.”
Ethiopian Kebatu boarded a train at Chelmsford station at 12.42pm heading towards London’s Liverpool Street and got off at Stratford at 1.12pm.
Astonishingly, the prison had not alerted police until 12.57pm.
He had been filmed at 12.07pm asking passers-by for directions in Chelmsford High Street – still dressed in his grey jail tracksuit and carrying a bag of items.
Yesterday, amid the hunt for Kebatu, Met Police Commander James Conway, said: “I am making a direct appeal to Mr Kebatu. We want to locate you in a safe and controlled way.
“You had already indicated a desire to return to Ethiopia when speaking to immigration staff.
“The best outcome for you is to make contact directly with us by either calling 999 or reporting yourself to a police station.”
He said Kebatu had access to funds and had made “a number of train journeys” across London.
TIMELINE
- June 29: Kebatu arrives in the UK on a small boat having travelled through Sudan, Libya, Italy and France. He paid 2,500 euros (£2,155) to cross the Channel in a “rubber dinghy”.
- July 7: The 38-year-old makes sexually explicit comments to a 14-year-old girl who offered him some pizza in Epping, Essex, before trying to kiss her.
- July 8: Kebatu sexually assaults a woman and also tries to kiss her. He then encounters the girl from the previous day and again tries to kiss her before sexually assaulting her.
- The woman sees Kebatu with the girl and calls 999. He is arrested and charged overnight.
- July 10: Kebatu appears at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court for the first time where he denies charges of sexual assault.
- July 13: The first of multiple anti-immigration demonstrations are held outside the Bell Hotel in Epping where Kebatu is housed with other asylum seekers.
- August 19: Epping Forest District Council is granted a temporary High Court injunction blocking the accommodation of asylum seekers at the Bell Hotel.
- August 26: The trial of Kebatu commences at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court
- August 27: Kebatu tells his trial that he was a sports teacher in his home country, and denies the offences, saying: “I’m not a wild animal.”
- August 29: The temporary injunction on the Bell Hotel, operated by Somani Hotels, is overturned at the Court of Appeal, which rules “that the closure of one site means capacity needs to be identified elsewhere in the system”.
- September 4: Kebatu is found guilty of two counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of harassment without violence.
- September 23: Kebatu is sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years, as well as being made the subject of a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He is also told that he faces deportation.
- October 24: Kebatu is accidentally released from HMP Chelmsford instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre to be deported. He is seen catching a London-bound train from Chelmsford station.
- October 25 AM: Essex Police says officers are working with the Metropolitan Police and British Transport Police as Kebatu is believed to be in the London area.
- October 25 PM: CCTV of Kebatu at a library in Dalston appears.
- October 26: Information emerges that Kebatu was later seen “trying to get a free night’s stay” at the nearby Premier Inn.
Police are preparing to release new footage of him – but confirmed there is a “high level of confidence” the asylum seeker is still in the London area.
Prison and probation services are also introducing new and mandatory procedures for prisoner releases following the extraordinary blunder, Ministry of Defence sources told Sky News.
Duty governors, who secure prison operations daily, will now be required to complete additional checks every evening before a release.
Governors will need to provide assurance that this procedure has been put in place as of Monday.
It comes as the father of Kebatu’s young victim spoke out in the wake of the monumental blunder.
He told Sky News he felt “let down” by the authorities and was left “frustrated” thinking that Kebatu had managed to escape custody.
The father went on to say: “The justice system has let us down.”
It was been revealed police failed to contact the schoolgirl victim or her family as they embarked on the manhunt.
Officers told Chelmsford residents, from station staff to eyewitnesses, to “keep quiet” about the search for Kebatu.
A friend of her father told The Sun: “It’s appalling that the state didn’t even bother to tell the teenage girl and her family that the predator who attacked her was looming large.”
Station staff said officers instructed them not to speak about the search, while a homeless man, Steve, said: “The police asked me at around three if I’d seen the man, they seemed stressed, man.
“I got they didn’t want people to freak out, but it was blooming obvious with all the sirens around by that point.
“I also think they were trying to hide it from the press.”
Meanwhile, a National Rail employee said his colleague had spoken to Kebatu at the station and that “he apparently was terrified and confused, and holding a bag.”
“Then at around three, when my shift started, hordes of police arrived but they told us not to tell anyone what was going on,” he added.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said: “The mistaken release at HMP Chelmsford is totally unacceptable. I am appalled that it has happened and it’s being investigated.
“The police are working urgently to track him down, and my government is supporting them.
“This man must be caught and deported for his crimes.”
Meanwhile Justice Secretary David Lammy is understood to be “furious” at Kebatu’s release and is working with police to find the criminal.
A senior justice source said: “He has been released in error – this is the mother of all f**k ups. It is down to human error, with the wrong paperwork on it or something.
“David Lammy is aware – and is furious.”
Kebatu was jailed after he was found guilty of touching and trying to kiss a schoolgirl in Epping on 7 and 8 July.
He had only been in prison for four weeks after being jailed in September 23.
His arrest led to a wave of demonstrations outside The Bell Hotel, where he was staying as an asylum seeker from Ethiopia.
Kebatu, 41, put his hand on the teen’s thigh, tried to kiss her, and told her he wanted to marry her while she was wearing her school uniform.
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
Thesun.co.uk is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thesun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.
