The teenage victim of convicted sex offender Hadush Kebatu said she “feared” seeing him again after he was accidentally released from an Essex prison, sparking a major manhunt across the South East.
The Ethiopian migrant was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford on Friday, leading to a 45-hour police operation across Essex and London before he was finally apprehended.
Police found and arrested Kebatu inside Finsbury Park at around 8.30am on Sunday after a member of the public spotted him at a nearby bus stop and alerted authorities.
Now, the father of the victim has condemned the error as “unbelievably irresponsible” and revealed the devastating impact on his daughter’s recovery from the sexual assault.
A statement from the victim’s father was read out by Shane Yerrell, an independent councillor on Epping Forest District Council.
‘She Feared Seeing Him Again’
The statement read: “The trauma and torment my daughter has suffered since this assault has really hurt myself and my family. She was slowly starting to get some of her confidence back and has recently started seeing her closest friends and been back in school.”
“Friday’s news has caused her so much stress and anxiety. She feared seeing him again in the high road and him recognising her. I’m really worried for my daughter’s mental health and wellbeing because of this assault.
The father emphasised the danger posed by Kebatu being at large just weeks after his sentencing.
“This man is a real danger to young women and children and for him to be wrongly released and walking the streets freely just four months after carrying out two sexual assaults, only five weeks after being sentenced, all because of a system failure on Friday is unbelievably irresponsible.”
Father Learned From Reporter
In the statement, the father said he was first alerted to Kebatu’s mistaken release by a journalist and said he was “greeted with hostility” when he went to HMP Chelmsford for answers.
I had to find out from a reporter that my daughter’s attacker was accidentally released in the day, then be sent images and videos of him walking around throughout the day before the police even alerted her mother,” he revealed.
“Then later that day when I attended HMP Chelmsford to seek some answers I was greeted with hostility and complete disregard for anything I said or asked, totally disrespecting me and my family.”
The father expressed hope that no other family would have to endure what his daughter experienced.
“I really hope that nobody else’s child has to experience what my daughter has. I really feared that this could happen again while Hadush Kebatu was freely walking around the streets of Chelmsford and London over the weekend. I hope he will be deported immediately.”
Calm Arrest in Finsbury Park
An eyewitness who saw Kebatu being led out of Finsbury Park by female officers said the mistakenly released prisoner was walking “calmly” and “wasn’t trying to get away”.
Jack Neill-Hall told reporters: “I was there to walk my dog and as I entered the park I saw a group of five people, two uniformed officers, someone who looked more like they were a plain-clothes officer, and a fourth person who I don’t know what their role was, and a man who looked awfully like the Epping asylum seeker guy who’d been on all the newspapers over the weekend.”
“I knew that he’d last been seen in the Hackney area and I thought ‘oh, that looks awfully like that guy, he’s not wearing the same clothes but it looks like him’.”
Mr Neill-Hall did not witness the actual arrest but saw officers escorting Kebatu from the north London park.
“I didn’t see him being arrested but I saw they were walking with the two female officers with their hands on him, two further officers who were talking into a radio walking down towards the exit,” he said.
Calls for National Inquiry
Chelmsford’s Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman called for a “rapid” national inquiry into the blunder that saw Kebatu walk free from custody.
“It’s unacceptable that the safety of my constituents, and the people of London, was ever put at risk. The prison service had several chances to fix it and failed,” Ms Goldman said.
“The Government has serious questions to answer and major work to do to make the system fit for purpose. It certainly isn’t at the moment. A rapid, national inquiry must happen to get to the bottom of this.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told GB News he remains “shocked that this inept Labour Government let him out in the first place”, placing blame squarely on the new administration.
Political Fallout
Head of policy for Reform UK Zia Yusuf said he was “relieved” Kebatu was apprehended, telling Sky News: “This is a man who eyewitnesses said was actively trying to go back into prison after being accidentally let go.
“So, look, glad he’s been apprehended but I mean it’s absolutely shocking and how any victim of sexual assault could look at this Labour Government and Jess Phillips in particular, and the whole state apparatus right now, and have any degree of confidence is beyond me.”
The comments reference Jess Phillips, the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, who has faced criticism over the handling of the case.
A prison officer has been taken off duties to discharge prisoners whilst an investigation takes place into how such a serious administrative error could occur.
Deportation Pledge
Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy has pledged that Kebatu will be deported “this week” following his rearrest.
Speaking outside a London police station on Sunday, Mr Lammy thanked officers for their “fantastic work” and described the mistaken release as a “catastrophic failure of the system”.
He confirmed that Kebatu must first be questioned about his movements across Essex and London during his 45 hours at large before being placed on a deportation flight.
The case has exposed serious weaknesses in prison administration and victim liaison procedures, with multiple safeguards apparently failing simultaneously.
Questions remain about how a convicted sex offender awaiting deportation could be released in error, and why the victim’s family was not immediately informed once the mistake was discovered.
The psychological impact on the teenage victim, who was beginning to rebuild her confidence after the assault, has been described as severe by her father.
The incident has reignited debates about prison management, deportation procedures for foreign national offenders, and the adequacy of support services for victims of sexual crimes.
Follow for more updates on Britannia Daily
