The Ethiopian illegal alien who sparked nationwide anti-migrant hotel protests has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Hadush Kebatu, 41, was found guilty of five offences on Thursday, including the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl, attempted sexual assault, harassment, and inciting the girl to engage in sexual activity, the BBC reports.
During the trial, the Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that the Ethiopian migrant, who reportedly illegally entered the country just days prior, approached a group of girls in Epping in July, telling them that he “wanted to have a baby with them” and attempted to kiss them.
The prosecutor told the court that he “appeared to have an erection” while he attempted to grope them.
In an interview with police, one of the victims said that Kebatu told them that if she came “back to the hotel with him we can make babies.”
“I couldn’t really move, it just shocked me. I didn’t know what to do. My mind went blank,” she said. “I felt sick to my stomach. I didn’t think a fully grown man would think it was OK to do that.”
In his defence, the Ethiopian asylum seeker attempted to claim that the girls were conspiring against him and fabricating the interaction.
However, the judge in the case said: “I am not persuaded there is any evidence any of the children fabricated the accounts they gave… In fact, some of the inconsistencies… make it less likely they concocted their evidence together.”
Kebatu will be remanded in prison while he awaits sentencing in three weeks. The judge predicted that this would likely come in the form of prison time, remarking, “It is just a question of how long.”
The case sparked protests against the Bell Hotel in Epping, where Kebatu was residing at taxpayer expense at the time of the sexual assault. Locals have protested outside of the hotel every week for more than two months, demanding its closure.
While the Epping Council initially secured an injunction to shut down the migrant hotel, the left-wing Labour government successfully overturned it on appeal after arguing that the rights of asylum seekers outweighed the concerns of safety expressed by native residents. The council said that it is considering appealing to the Supreme Court.
The protests in Epping were followed by similar demonstrations in dozens of cities and towns throughout Britain in recent weeks against the more than 32,000 supposed asylum seekers — many of whom entered the country illegally — being put up in over 200 hotels on the taxpayer’s dime.
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