‘Confused’ migrant sex offender was ‘mistakenly escorted to train station by prison staff’
A delivery driver has described the shocking moment he witnessed the man escorted away from prison.
Hadush Kebatu (Image: PA)
The wanted migrant who is the subject of a police manhunt was mistakenly escorted out of prison to the train station by staff, a witness has claimed. A man, called Sim, was delivering equipment to Chelmsford Prison when he spoke with Hadush Kebatu as he was being released on Friday (October 24).
He explained that the Ethiopian migrant, who was released in error instead of being handed over for deportation, seemed to have no idea where he was going. Kebatu approached Sim and asked him “where am I going?” The migrant also said: “I don’t know where I’m going and what I’m doing.”
As reported by Sky News, Sim explained: “He came out of the airlock, and kept saying to the officers there, ‘Where am I going? What am I doing? I don’t know where I’m going and what I’m doing.’
“He was holding a pack of paperwork in his arms, and his bag of bits… He knew he’d been deported. He came over to me and said, ‘I need you to help me.’ His English was pretty good.”
According to the delivery driver, a member of staff at the prison advised Kebatu to go to Chelmsford station to catch a train to London. The migrant was reportedly outside the prison for around “an hour and a half” before leaving, with a member of staff telling him: “Go, you’ve been released, you go.”
Kebatu reportedly seemed confused and was “scratching his head”. He kept repeating: “Where do I go, where do I go?”
Sim explained: “The fourth or fifth time [he went into the reception] he was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed. I’m not sticking up for the guy, but in my eyes, he was trying to do the right thing. He knew he was getting deported, but he didn’t know where he was going or how he should get there.”
A manhunt was launched shortly after Sim made his delivery. It has since been confirmed that Kebatu caught a train to Stratford in east London before heading to London Liverpool Street Station.
According to the Metropolitan Police, the migrant arrived at Liverpool Street at 1.18pm on Friday. As of 2.40pm on Saturday, the man hunt is continuing and police are appealing to the public for help to locate Kebatu.
Sim added: “Someone here has messed up… I know someone has been taken off duty… But to me, there’s got to be more people that allowed this to happen, not just one person… It’s not the first time it’s happened, and I very much doubt it will be the last.”
Kebatu was jailed for sexually assaulting a teenage girl (Image: PA)
Sir Keir Starmer has called the situation “totally unacceptable” and called for Kebatu to be deported. The Prime Minister said in a post on X: “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.”
Kebatu was previously jailed for 12 months for sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Epping. The 41-year-old was also made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order.
Essex Police said he tried to kiss a teenage girl on a bench before making numerous sexual comments. The following day, he met the same girl again and tried to kiss her before sexually assaulting her.
Kebatu made further sexually explicit comments despite being told the girl’s age and the fact that she was wearing her school uniform. He also sexually assaulted and attempted to kiss an adult woman who had offered to help him create a CV to find work.
Kebatu was released from prison in Chelmsford (Image: Getty Images)
