Police launch manhunt after Bell Hotel migrant who sexually assaulted teenage girl is on the run
Crime / Fri 24th Oct 2025 at 04:37pm
Update: Saturday: Statement from Essex Police
ENQUIRIES are continuing at pace this morning to locate and arrest a man following a prison service releasing error yesterday(Friday 24 October).
Officers from Essex Police, the Metropolitan Police and British Transport Police are working together in this fast-moving and complex investigation.
Officers worked throughout the night to track his movements, including scouring hours of CCTV footage, and this work continues today.
Our enquiries show that he was last seen in the London area, and this is our focus.
We would urge anyone who sees him, knows where he is or has any information to call 999 immediately.
We would like to thank the public for their support and the information they have already shared.
It is not lost on us that this situation is concerning to people, and we are committed to locating and arresting him as quickly as possible.
Statement from Essex Police
WE were informed by the prison service at 12.57pm today (Friday 24 October) of an error this morning surrounding the release of an individual.
As a result of that, we have launched a search operation to locate them and are working closely with partner agencies.
These fast-paced enquiries have shown that the man boarded a London-bound train at Chelmsford Railway Station at 12:41pm.
We understand the concern the public would have regarding this situation and can assure you we have officers working to urgently locate and detain him.
We would appeal to anyone who has seen him or has any information regarding where he might be to call 999 immediately and quote 0474 of 24 October.
POLICE have launched a manhunt after an asylum seeker who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in Epping was mistakenly released from prison.
Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on a small boat, was jailed for 12 months over the Epping attack last month.
The story was broken by The Sun this afternoon.
Click below.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/37116197/epping-hotel-migrant-mistakenly-freed-from-jail
Old Man
2025-10-24 16:56:10
You really couldn't make this stuff up.
jarrett
2025-10-24 16:57:10
So the one who murdered the young hotel worker gets sentenced today and this one does a runner, Starmers new one in one out deal.
Guy Flegman
2025-10-24 18:02:49
So much for “smashing the gangs”. The only thing that will top this story is the prime minister being arrested for inciting violence by using that phrase in the first place.
Brian
2025-10-24 20:07:20
What a farce we can't stop illegal immigrants coming in ,and when they commit serious crimes against woman we can't lock them up or deport them ,what a shambles and a laughing stock this country is.
Mr George
2025-10-24 20:17:37
Of all the people to make this mistake with... that's him gone into the wind then. I mean, the Home Office for years and years have been rubbish at removing failed asylum seekers, illegal immigrants and visa overstayers, I don't presume be any different. This country has been run by idiots for far too long.
Maureen
2025-10-24 21:39:20
Honestly, how can we trust the security of our nation to Starmer and Labour. They are only concerned with not 'inflaming divisions' and all this woke nonsense. We need politicians who will defend, protect and support our people and defend our culture against this Government backed abuse and invasion. The real incitement is caused by this treacherous government and the Left.
Peter Lamb
2025-10-24 22:53:51
If both the Labour Party and the Conservatives were serious about stopping the small boats crossing the channel they would do it immediately. We simply can't continue to allow undocumented fighting age single males to keep arriving and putting them up at taxpayers expense.
Mr George
2025-10-24 23:23:59
Maureen, come on, this isn't just a Labour or left thing. I am all for Labour bashing when it's due but wow, it's like the last 14 years (and previous) never happened in your book! I wish people would stick to the truth and not be so selective in their outrage. People on boats increased after Brexit, where we lost the ability to return them as well as lost access to EU database on migrants. Breixt, a Farage thing done when Tories in power.
Mr George
2025-10-24 23:26:10
Peter Lamb, from Reform, and how would they do that? If it were so simple, why have they not?
Eileen Dover
2025-10-24 23:27:28
That was no accidental release.
Mr George
2025-10-24 23:31:17
Maureen, come on, this isn't just a Labour or left thing. I am all for Labour bashing when it's due but wow, it's like the last 14 years (and previous) never happened in your world! People on boats increased after Brexit, where we lost the ability to return them as well as lost access to EU database on migrants. Breixt, a Farage thing done when Tories in power.
linda dalby
2025-10-25 00:08:05
so where did he get the money to board a train why was he let out in the first place how on earth can the people moving him possibly make that sort of mistake someone has to be bought to account
Ted
2025-10-25 06:29:11
So your not selective in your outrage then George. The only way to stop these boats coming in full of fighting age migrants is to put them in the army to do national service. That will stop them dead in their tracks. It will never happen because the Labour Party are absolutely useless and totally out of their depth. I am sick to the back teeth of the government spending my money on these scroungers. How is that for selective outrage . We are in deeper debt than when the Tories were in.
Ted
2025-10-25 06:38:06
Also, I don't know why they put that migrant in prison, so that he got 3 meals a day, and bed all paid for by the tax payer . They should have just kicked him out of the country straight away. He could have gone to Rwanda, but waster Starmer blocked that idea. ABSOLUTE TOSSER.
Brian
2025-10-25 06:45:08
Mr George how come illegal migrants are in France?have they left the EU?.brexit is an excuse for allowing illegal immigrants to enter the UK.
jarrett
2025-10-25 08:36:47
Ted, I take it that is a mickey take right? the bit about guns.
Brian
2025-10-25 09:31:44
Eileen dover,I think you make an interesting point,but surely what does even this crackpot government gain out of it?they couldn't even organise a drink up in a pub .
Eileen Dover
2025-10-25 12:37:30
Brian, this government continue to make themselves look like fools on a daily basis, this latest debacle is no exception. If this man had been deported straight away, instead of using up another prison space, half of the Metropolitan Police would not be out there searching for him. The Tories were a bunch of incompetents, this lot are far worse.
David Forman
2025-10-25 15:02:05
To be fair the culture of incompetence is due to under resourcing at Chelmsford prison and was well in place before the Labour government were elected. The evidence is contained in a report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons following on-site inspections in January and February 2024. In paragraph 2.5 on page 12 it says: "Leaders had faced considerable pressures over the past year because of national capacity issues. The remand and unsentenced population had risen to almost 70% and the prison was now managing more admissions, transfers and immediate releases without additional resource." The report also talks of inexperienced staff in paragraph 4.2 on page 25: "The prison had a high proportion of inexperienced staff, with 35% of officers being in post for less than a year. We saw examples of officers not knowing what they needed to do – for example, in the supervision of medicines administration." See HMIP report at https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/19/2024/05/Chelmsford-web-2024.pdf
Mr George
2025-10-25 16:27:29
Ted, you are talking nonsense am afraid. Sorry. Try google, or fact checking.
Mr George
2025-10-25 22:09:50
Brian, we lost the ability to return them when Brexit happened by sending them back to the first EU country they arrived because no longer member of the EU. It emboldened migrants to make the journey because of the chance of being sent back had been removed. Prior to Brexit, numbers on boats were a few hundred on average a year, now we are in their thousands, and most of those apply are granted asylum. Immigration via visas for non EU nationals and asylum have both increased significantly since brexit. We didn't 'take back control'.
Brian
2025-10-26 03:11:17
Mr George you talk rubbish,merkal ,in Germany,pronounced in 2015,"all are welcome " Blair started mass immigration in 1997. These people make their way through EU countries, illegally,before they get to calais,and if the government in the UK declares a national emergency the Royal navy can move these people out of the English Channel to where ever,the real reason is that this lot and the previous lot want it to continue.
Mr George
2025-10-26 09:00:26
Brian, Blair's & the EU's immigration has nothing to do with boat people, you are conflating the two issues. Amusingly, immigration (controlled, with a visa) has also increased massively since Brexit). Please just fact check stuff, all the information is literally at your fingertips.
Mr George
2025-10-26 09:01:43
Brian - nothing I have said is untrue and you could easily find out yourself. You just don't want to hear it.
Brian
2025-10-27 07:51:03
I hear it,and I don't accept it .if you involve the Royal navy ,which I've mentioned,then the result would be...."OK chaps it's not worth our while attempting to cross the channel illegally. Let's try legally"..you remove the pull factor ..which macron himself mentioned.Nothing to do with brexit.Have a good day.
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