A sex attack migrant who was accidentally freed from prison has been arrested following a three-day manhunt thanks to a tip-off from a member of the public, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed.
Hadush Kebatu was set free from HMP Chelmsford in error on Friday just four weeks after being sentenced for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, Essex, while being housed at an asylum seeker hotel.
The 38-year-old Ethiopian, whose offences sparked protests outside The Bell Hotel in Epping and around the country, was awaiting transfer to an immigration detention centre ahead of his planned deportation, but bungling prison staff freed him instead.
The convicted sex offender was filmed in Chelmsford speaking to members of the public before boarding a 12.41pm train to London Liverpool Street.
CCTV showed Kebatu in the Dalston area of Hackney just before 8pm on Friday. He was also picked up at a library in Dalston Square around two hours earlier, wearing a prison grey tracksuit while clutching a white tote bag with avocados on it.
But the Met Police announced today that he has finally been arrested, three days after being mistakenly freed. Kebatu was arrested by Met officers in Finsbury Park, north London, on a bus at around 8.30am and will be taken back to prison.
In a picture of his arrest, Kebatu – who had access to funds – was seen wearing jeans, a puffer jacket and a hood over his head, having managed to change out of his prison tracksuit.
Commander James Conway, who has overseen the operation to find Kebatu, said: ‘This has been a diligent and fast paced investigation led by specialist officers from the Metropolitan Police, supported by Essex Police and the British Transport Police.
This is the moment Hadush Kebatu (second from left) was arrested by Met Police officers in Finsbury Park, north London
Kebatu was arrested by Met officers in the Finsbury Park area of London at around 8.30am this morning
A CCTV image issued by the Metropolitan Police (pictured) shows Hadush Kebatu in Dalston, London, on Saturday night
‘Information from the public led officers to Finsbury Park and following a search, they located Mr Kebatu. He was detained by police, but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service.
‘I am extremely grateful to the public for their support following our appeal, which assisted in locating Mr Kebatu.’
A witness told The Sun: ‘He was arrested on the bus. There was one plain-clothes female officer and another woman officer in uniform.
‘Two uniformed male officers wearing blue forensics gloves joined them and put him in the back of a van.
‘He was handcuffed behind his back and looked pretty glum. There was no struggle. People around recognised him immediately but let the police get on with their job.’
Kebatu was seen strolling around a library on Dalston on Friday evening and was later seen ‘trying to get a free night’s stay at the nearby Premier Inn.
Confirmation of the arrest came shortly after Wes Streeting had begged for the public’s help in finding the wrongly released sex attacker.
Speaking on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the health secretary said the government had been ‘turning over every stone’ to find Kebatu.
‘He [Kebatu] was last spotted in east London and so I would appeal to people watching to look at the images of this man to make sure that we’re all vigilant and if he’s sighted to dial 999 immediately.
‘We want him found, arrested and deported.’
He added: ‘This man was behind bars because of serious sex offences. He is not meant to be in this country. In fact, what what was supposed to be happening is he was meant to be transferred for deportation.
‘So, the idea that he’s loose on our streets is incredibly serious. It is a serious failure.’
The cabinet minister admitted that the mistaken release shows something has gone ‘spectacularly wrong’.
He added: ‘I feel as angry as people watching this morning. You cannot fathom how on earth this has happened. We don’t want to prejudge the investigation. We will get to the bottom of exactly what’s gone wrong.
‘Every single day, there are millions of people working across the public sector doing a great job. And when something like this goes spectacularly wrong, we need to work out how.’
It comes after it emerged that prison officers told Kebatu he had to make it to the removal centre on his own steam.
A delivery driver told Sky News: ‘I heard one of the officers saying, ‘This is how you get to the station, you go down here…’ [he] directed him to the station and said he had to get on a train to get to this place… This conversation was at the front of the prison.’
In what caused further disbelief last night, Kebatu spent more than 90 minutes hanging around outside the prison because he simply did not know ‘where to go or what to do’.
The driver, who was delivering equipment to the prison, said: ‘[The officers] were basically sending him away, saying, ‘Go, you’ve been released, you go’.’
As the hunt descended deeper into farce, Wes Streeting (pictured) had begged for the public’s help in finding the wrongly released sex attacker
Video footage (above) appeared to capture Kebatu in Chelmsford town centre asking for directions from locals
The debacle has left Labour facing fresh questions about its handling of the migrant crisis.
It comes amid a backlash against efforts to tackle illegal migration after a man who was deported under the ‘one in, one out’ scheme with France reappeared on UK shores having crossed the Channel again in a small boat.
Tory MP for Epping Forest, Neil Hudson, called Kebatu’s release a ‘catastrophic mistake’ which had ‘deeply distressed, upset and angered’ the whole community, adding that ‘accountability must go right to the top’.
Even after being set free, Kebatu kept going ‘back and forth’ into the prison reception area seeking help and showing staff a wad of paperwork about his case, according to the driver.
‘I’m not sticking up for the guy but in my eyes he wanted to do the right thing and go to the right place,’ he said.
‘He knew he was getting deported but he didn’t know where to go or how he should get there. He kept scratching his head and saying, ‘Where do I go, where do I go?”
He added that the officers had no interest in helping him, saying, ‘You’re released, you’re released’.
Kebatu had been spotted walking through Chelmsford, Essex, after his accidental release from prison
Kebatu was jailed for a year last month after assaulting his 14-year-old victim. During his trial, Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that he acted ‘ignorantly and repulsively’.
The migrant became aroused as he put his hand on the girl’s thighs and stroked her hair despite knowing ‘full well she was only 14’. He said he wanted to have a baby with her and invited her back to The Bell Hotel, where he was living.
Kebatu then tried to kiss a woman who attempted to intervene, before putting his hand on her leg and telling her she was pretty.
The asylum seeker gave his age as 38 during a court appearance but a judge said he had seen information indicating he was 41.
Met Police Commander James Conway urged Kebatu to give himself up, saying: ‘We want to locate you in a safe and controlled way. You had already indicated a desire to return to Ethiopia when speaking to immigration staff. The best outcome for you is to make contact directly with us.’
He said the asylum seeker had taken ‘a number of journeys’ across London since his release on Friday and had ‘access to funds’.