A WRONGLY freed sex fiend migrant has been in court eight times for knife and burglary offences since arriving in the UK on holiday six years ago.
Algerian-born Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24 – who was released from jail by mistake last week – arrived in the country illegally as a teenager on a six-month visa in 2019.
However, the following year his permission to remain expired but border checks failed to show he had left.
And despite the Home Office lodging a “probable over-stayer” case in a bid to remove him, he was allowed to stay.
Kaddour-Cherif, who was wrongly released from HMP Wandsworth and remains on the run, awaits three separate trials for alleged offences, including possession of a knife, burglary and handling stolen bank cards, reports The Times.
The migrant – who uses the name Ibrahim – was previously convicted of indecent exposure, assault of a police officer and theft.
He had warrants issued for his arrest by courts which didn’t realise he was already in prison.
In just under a year, Kaddour-Cherif appeared in eight different courts and in total there were more than 40 arranged hearings.
His accidental release came days after hotel migrant child sex attacker Hadush Kebatu was also wrongly set free from the same prison.
Kaddour-Cherif was accused of burglary at the Royal Society of Literature in Somerset House in the Strand in September 2023.
Then the following November he was allegedly caught in possession of a knife in a public place – with a trial set for next April.
He was bailed in January 2024 but failed to appear for a hearing at Stratford Magistrates’ Court in March that year.
In the same month, Kaddour-Cherif exposed himself to a woman in Lloyd Park, Walthamstow.
He was also charged with handling stolen bank cards belonging to a female victim in Lambeth, south London, in August 2024.
The migrant is due to stand trial for the stolen goods allegations in February next year.
Last November, Kaddour-Cherif was convicted of exposure and sentenced to an 18-month community order, while also being added to the sex offenders register.
And in the same month pleaded guilty to stealing a backpack from a restaurant the previous July.
The Times also reports he was fined for assault by beating in January, according to a courts service spokesman.
In June, he was jailed for six weeks on pleading guilty to possession of a knife at Southwark Crown Court.
After being released from prison, he was moved to Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre in west London in June but was then set free on immigration bail.
On Thursday he was due to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court, accused of burgling a restaurant in Walthamstow.
It is unclear why he was mistakenly released from prison.
It’s understood Kaddour-Cherif was remanded in custody on September 11 for failure to comply with reporting conditions as per the sex offenders register.
The charge was dismissed and he was set free when he should have been remanded for an intent to steal offence.
However, the judge at the Snaresbrook hearing, which went ahead in the defendant’s absence, said he had been in prison since September 24 over the burglary offence, and was due out in March next year.
Kaddour-Cherif had not entered a plea and is due to stand trial in July 2026.
‘This is a shambles’
Following the prison release gaffes, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy promised this week “the strongest release checks that have ever been in place”.
The news of the latest blunder emerged as he was asked during Prime Minister’s Questions whether any more asylum seekers had been wrongly released since Kebatu.
Lammy, who also serves as Justice Secretary, dodged the question several times.
The Sun understands he was informed about the wrongful release overnight.
He later released a statement saying he was “absolutely outraged and appalled by the mistaken release of a foreign criminal wanted by the police”.
The MP added: “The Metropolitan Police is leading an urgent manhunt, and my officials have been working through the night to take him back to prison.
“Victims deserve better and the public deserve answers. That is why I have already brought in the strongest checks ever to clamp down on such failures and ordered an independent investigation, led by Dame Lynne Owens to uncover what went wrong and address the rise in accidental releases which has persisted for too long.
“This latest incident exposes deeper flaws across the failing criminal justice system we inherited. Dame Lynne Owens’ investigation will leave no stone unturned to identify these issues, so we can fix them, improve safeguards and ensure the public is properly protected.”
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch wrote on X: “James Cartlidge asked the Deputy PM FIVE times to tell us if ANOTHER migrant sex offender had been accidentally released from prison.
“Instead of answering, Lammy lost his temper.
“Now we read it HAS happened again & he’s been on the run for a week.
“This is a shambles of a government.”
HMP Wandsworth was at the centre of another high profile manhunt when soldier Daniel Khalife escaped from the jail in September 2023.
On that occasion, he clung to a food van and was caught by police four days later.
