A MIGRANT tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and told her he wanted her baby before inviting her to his Epping hotel, a court heard today.
Hadush Kebatu, 41, allegedly made “inappropriate comments” to the young girl as she ate pizza with her friends near a busy high street on July 7.
Hadush Kebatu is accused of sexually assaulting a schoolgirlPA
PAHe was staying at the Bell Hotel at the time[/caption]
Kebatu, from Ethiopia, was living at the controversial Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex – which has since been shut down after a bombshell High Court ruling ordered it to close.
The alleged incident sparked mass protests across the country with other communities hoping to force legal battles to close local asylum hotels.
Kebatu, who is being held in custody, allegedly carried out the attacks just eight days after arriving in Britain on a small boat, Chelmsford Magistrates Court heard today.
He is charged with five offences between July 7 and 8, including sexual assault and harassment.
Prosecutor Stuart Cowen told the court that the alleged victim was with friends “on a bench eating pizza when they were approached by the defendant appearing hungry”.
He said: “They offered him some which he accepted. He sat down next to [the alleged victim] on the bench and it is said that without any encouragement he began to make inappropriate comments to her and a girlfriend.
“It is the crown’s case that he said he wanted to have a baby with each of them and attempted to kiss them.
“He invited them back to the Bell Hotel where he was resident, having recently arrived in the UK.”
“His advances were rejected”, the court heard, and it was made clear that the victim was 14 years old.
He then tried to get members of the young group to drink from a bottle of Coke he had bought from a nearby shop.
Giving evidence, the 14-year-old girl said Kebatu told her and her friends: “You can come back to the hotel with me we can make lovely babies and have sex.”
She told the court she kept telling him how old she was but it “wasn’t getting into his head”.
The girl added: “He told us as well that in his country it is normal to marry 14-year-olds.”
She said that the defendant told her and her friends that he had arrived on a boat a few days earlier and was “loving it here”.
The next day, on July 8, Kebatu made a similar approach but this time the alleged victim was wearing her school uniform.
He then attempted to convince the young victim to kiss a male friend. It is alleged that Kebatu had an erection during this interaction.
A female member of the public intervened and it is alleged that Kebatu also sexually assaulted that woman, who then called the police.
Mr Cowen added: “This case has attracted quite a lot of publicity because of the defendant’s circumstances. However, the case must be judged fairly on the evidence.”
Kebatu, whose age was initially reported by police as 38, denies three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of harassment without violence.
His two-day trial before District Judge Christopher Williams at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court continues.
PAThe alleged attack sparked protests across the UK[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]