Migrant sex offender mistakenly released from prison in England arrested

Ethiopian national Hadush Kebatu was jailed for 12 months in September for the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl and was wrongly freed from HMP Chelmsford on Friday morning

Sun, 26 Oct, 2025 - 09:40

Ellie Ng, PA

An asylum seeker sex offender seeker mistakenly released from prison has been arrested following a high-profile manhunt.

Ethiopian national Hadush Kebatu was jailed for 12 months in September for the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl and was wrongly freed from HMP Chelmsford on Friday morning instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre.

A CCTV image of Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu in the Dalston area of London (Metropolitan Police/PA)

The migrant, who had been living at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, when he assaulted the girl, took a train from Chelmsford to Stratford, east London, the day he was released and was later spotted in Dalston carrying a white bag with pictures of avocados on it.

He was arrested in the Finsbury Park area of London at around 8.30am on Sunday, the Metropolitan Police said.

The force, which led the manhunt, added that he was detained and will be returned to the custody of the prison service.