A MIGRANT has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl after he invited her back to his Epping hotel to “make babies”.
Hadush Kebatu, 41, put his hand on the teen’s thigh, tried to kiss her, and told her he wanted to marry her while she was in her school uniform.
PAHadush Kebatu has been convicted of sexual assault[/caption]
BPMHe was staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping at the time[/caption]
The Ethiopian migrant, who previously worked as a teacher, carried out the attacks just eight days after arriving in Britain on a small boat.
Kebatu was living at the controversial Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which has been at the centre of a landmark court battle.
The sex attack sparked mass anti-immigration protests across the country, with frustrated Brits demanding that asylum hotels be emptied.
Kebatu, who was assisted by a Tigrinya interpreter in court, has now been found guilty of five charges including sexually assaulting the 14-year-old girl and inciting her to engage in sexual activity,
He was also convicted of attempting to sexually assault the teen, harassment without violence and sexually assaulting a woman who had stepped in to help.
Finding the fiend guilty today, District judge Christopher Williams said: “I’m not persuaded that there is any evidence to suggest the children fabricated any of the evidence they gave.”
Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court was told the girl was friends “on a bench eating pizza when they were approached by the defendant appearing hungry”.
Prosecutor Stuart Cowen 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.”
The girl made clear she was aged just 14 as she “rejected his advances”.
But Kebatu told her and her friends: “You can come back to the hotel with me we can make lovely babies and have sex.”
He also made a string of other creepy comments – including telling the teen: “Come back to Africa, you would be a good wife”.
The victim told the court she kept telling him how old she was but it “wasn’t getting into his head”.
She added: “He told us as well that in his country it is normal to marry 14-year-olds.”
One youngster who witnessed the sexual assault said the migrant boasted he had “paid about 2,500 euro to get on a rubber dinghy to come to our country”.
The next day, on July 8, Kebatu made a similar approach but this time the victim was wearing her school uniform.
A female member of the public intervened and Kebatu also sexually assaulted her by trying to kiss her, putting his hand on her leg and telling her she was pretty.
Footage released by police showed the moment the fiend was arrested after the woman called police.
Kebatu could be seen weeping as he was taken from the back of a police car and handcuffed.
During his evidence, he denied trying to kiss the girl and claimed: “I’m not a wild animal”.
He added: “I can’t do these kind of things. These are children, new generation.”
Kebatu said the woman who also accused him of sexual assault told him, “You are handsome, I want you to come to my home”.
It comes after Epping Forest District Council previously won a bid at the High Court to block migrants from being housed at the hotel.
The temporary injunction meant that the building had to be cleared of its occupants by September 12.
It also caused a ripple effect across the UK as more councils launched their own bids to boot migrants out of hotels in their towns.
But the Court of Appeal last week overturned the injunction following an appeal by the Home Office and hotel owners Somani – meaning the migrants can stay where they are for now.
A further hearing will come in October still after Epping Council accused the hotel of operating unlawfully.
Rebecca Mundy, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor with CPS East of England, said: “This was an incident which became a cause of deep concern for the local community.
“Our prosecutors worked carefully and impartially to bring this case to justice according to the law.
“Close and effective collaboration between Essex Police and our out-of-hours prosecution team ensured Kebatu was promptly arrested, charged and remanded.
“The CPS is determined to pursue justice for victims, working with our law enforcement partners to hold sex offenders accountable.”
Kebatu has been remanded into custody ahead of sentencing on September 23.
PAKebatu wept as he was arrested by police[/caption]
PAThe attack sparked protests across the UK[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
