- An Ethiopian asylum seeker was sentenced to 12 months for sexual offenses against a minor and adult.
- The incident at The Bell Hotel triggered weeks of protests and counterprotests in Epping, Essex.
- A judge ruled the offender poses a significant risk of reoffending and acted with manipulation.
(EPPING, ESSEX) — A UK judge jailed Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu for 12 months after finding the Ethiopian asylum seeker guilty of sexual offences against a 14-year-old girl and an adult woman at The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex.
District Judge Christopher Williams convicted the 41-year-old of two counts of sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and harassment without violence at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court, court coverage said. The judge ruled Kebatu posed a “significant risk of reoffending” and acted manipulatively.
The offences at the hotel, which has been used for asylum accommodation, helped trigger weeks of anti-immigration protests and counterprotests outside the site, which began in late July 2025.
The court heard the offences occurred on July 7, 2025, around eight days after Kebatu arrived in the UK by small boat. He approached the girl and her friend outside The Bell Hotel and touched her thigh.
Court coverage said Kebatu told the girl he wanted to have a baby with her and invited the two inside. The girl told him, “No, I’m 14” as she “froze” and felt “really creeped out.”
The following day, the court heard Kebatu sexually assaulted an adult woman after she intervened. He placed his hand on her thigh and attempted to kiss her, the court heard.
Williams sentenced Kebatu on September 23, 2025, and ordered him to be placed on the sex offenders register, court coverage said. The register is used to monitor people convicted of sexual offences and can impose reporting requirements as part of public protection measures.
The judge’s finding that Kebatu posed a “significant risk of reoffending” formed part of the court’s assessment of risk, the coverage said. Williams also ruled Kebatu acted manipulatively.
Kebatu’s lawyer told the court he expressed remorse and understood his actions caused “chaos in Epping” and trouble for other migrants, court coverage said. The lawyer said Kebatu wished to be deported under the UK Borders Act 2007.
The court heard victim impact statements describing lasting effects on daily life, without identifying the complainants. In a statement, the girl said she now “checks over my shoulder” when out with friends.
The girl said she prepared her statement “so that the man who did this to me understands what he has done to me – a 14-year-old girl”. The court heard she had felt unable to react in the moment and later described feeling “really creeped out.”
The adult woman said she felt “angered and frustrated,” court coverage said. She said Kebatu “did not even appear to know that what he’s done was wrong.”
The case unfolded amid heightened tensions around The Bell Hotel, which locals criticised for being used to house asylum seekers. Anti-immigration protests and counterprotests began outside the hotel in late July 2025 and continued for weeks, court coverage said.
Epping Forest District Council has continued legal action against the government to close the hotel, calling the site “completely inappropriate,” court coverage said. The council’s action focused on the location’s suitability, as the protests brought sustained policing pressures around the site.
Kebatu was described in court coverage as a failed asylum seeker living in the hotel. The offences, conviction and sentence played into the wider debate in the town about the use of hotels for asylum accommodation, as police responded to repeated demonstrations outside The Bell Hotel.
The reference in court to deportation under the UK Borders Act 2007 placed the case within a broader legal framework that can link criminal convictions to consideration of removal from the UK. The lawyer’s submission to the court set out Kebatu’s stated wish to be deported, but the coverage did not report any separate decision on immigration enforcement following the sentence.
The criminal proceedings at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court centred on the two complainants, one a minor and one an adult woman, and on the judge’s assessment of the offending and risk. In sentencing Kebatu to 12 months in prison and ordering registration, the court imposed measures that extend beyond custody through monitoring requirements, as the town continued to face public-order strain linked to protests at the hotel.
