AN ETHIOPIAN asylum seeker was jailed for a year on Tuesday (23) for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, in a case that ignited weeks of UK protests.
District Judge Christopher Williams told Hadush Kebatu that "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," as he passed sentence.
Williams had found Kebatu guilty of five offences, including two of sexual assault, following a three-day trial that ended on September 4.
Kebatu reportedly gave his age as 38 but court records suggest he is 41, according to police.
Police had arrested him on July 8 in Epping, northeast of London, after he repeatedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and touch her legs, and made sexually explicit comments to her.
He also sexually assaulted an adult woman, placing a hand on her thigh, when she intervened to stop his interactions with the girl.
Kebatu, who has been put on the sexual offenders register for 10 years, was staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping, where around 130 other asylum seekers have been housed and which became the target of repeated protests following his arrest.
The demonstrations, fuelled by online anger, swiftly spread to other towns where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, and sparked counter-demonstrations.
The teenage victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said in a statement read out at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court, south east England, that "every time I go out with my friends, I'm checking over my shoulder."
The teenager said Kebatu had told her he wanted to have a baby with her after she offered him pizza because he looked hungry.
Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on a small boat across the Channel from northern France at the end of June, had denied the charges, insisting he was "not a wild animal".
On sentencing, Williams said he agreed with the author of a pre-sentence report that Kebatu was "manipulative" during interviews.
"You raised a lack of English and mental health difficulties as reasons why you either can't remember what happened or cannot talk about the offending.
"The probation officer didn't consider this was accurate and considered you were being manipulative. I agree with that assessment," he said.
Molly Dyas, representing Kebatu, said his "firm wish is to be deported as soon as possible".
The Home Office said it would not comment on individual cases but that it was "longstanding policy" to seek to deport "foreign nationals who commit serious crimes in our country".
The Bell Hotel is embroiled in a legal battle pitting Epping Forest district council, which wants it emptied of asylum seekers, against its owner and the interior ministry, which are both fighting to keep using it as a shelter.
The High Court in London will hear the latest legal challenge on October 15.
A bitter national debate over immigration policy has been raging in the UK, as frustration grows over the continued arrival of small boats carrying migrants across the Channel from France.
Tens of thousands have made the dangerous crossing annually since 2018, with this year's numbers on course to be record-breaking.
The government, which has a legal duty to provide asylum seekers with housing, said just over 32,000 were in hotels at the end of June, with nearly 71,000 in "other accommodation".
It has pledged to stop using hotels for this purpose by the next election, due in 2029.
Last week, three people were flown back to France by the UK government, under a new "one in, one out" scheme with the French government.
(AFP)
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