An asylum seeker has been sentenced to 12 months in prison after sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Essex.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu had been staying at The Bell Hotel in Epping, and the incident fuelled weeks of protests at the site.
The Ethiopian national was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and harassment without violence.
Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court was told he tried to kiss the teenager, put his hand on her thigh and brushed her hair after she offered him pizza.
Kebatu, 41, also told the girl and her friend he wanted to have a baby with them and invited them back to the hotel.
The incident happened on 7 July, about a week after he arrived in the UK on a boat.
The girl later told police she “froze” and got “really creeped out”, telling him: “No, I’m 14.”
Kebatu was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman – putting his hand on her thigh and trying to kiss her – when she tried to intervene after seeing him talking to the girl again the following day.
He denied all the charges but was convicted earlier this month.
Protesters near The Bell Hotel in July. Pic: PA
Kebatu, who was a “teacher of sports” in his home country, wants to be deported, his lawyer Molly Dyas told the court on Tuesday, calling it his “firm wish” and a view he held “before the trial”.
Prosecutor Stuart Cowen, discussing a pre-sentence report, said Kebatu admitted “he didn’t know the UK was so strict even though he knew the Ethiopian age of consent was 18”.
Kebatu understood that “the situation Epping is in chaos”, because of what he did, and he “had got a lot of migrants in trouble,” Mr Cowen said.
The prosecutor read statements from both victims, with the 14-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, saying she is now “checking over my shoulder” when she is out with friends.
She said she prepared the statement “so that the man who did this to me understands what he has done to me – a 14-year-old girl”.
She continued: “Every time I go out with my friends, I’m checking over my shoulder.
Police officers and protesters outside The Bell Hotel, Epping in August. Pic: PA
“Wearing a skirt now makes me feel vulnerable and exposed. Seeing the bench (where the sexual assault took place) reminds me of everything that happened.
“I’m aware there have been protests because of what has happened – I’m lucky that I was not in the country when that happened.”
The adult woman who was sexually assaulted by Kebatu and who also cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “Since the incident, I feel both angered and frustrated.
“He [Kebatu] did not even appear to know that what he’s done was wrong.
District Judge Christopher Williams said Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu “couldn’t have anticipated” his offending “would cause such a response from the public”.
Across the country, and particularly in Epping, there have been “mass demonstrations and fear that children in the UK are not safe”.
He said: “It’s evident to me that your shame and remorse isn’t because of the offences you’ve committed but because of the impact they’ve had.”
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