Father of sex assault migrant victim ‘gutted’ at lack of apology and government silence over release blunder
Migrant sex attacker’s 14-year-old victim feared ‘bumping into him in the high street’ after he was released by mistake
The father of the girl who was sexually assaulted by asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu say they are ‘gutted’ after not receiving an apology from the government, LBC has learned.
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Kebatu was released from prison by mistake on Friday and was finally deported to Ethiopia this morning.
A spokesman for her father told LBC that as far as he’s aware “the family haven’t heard from anybody in the government and they haven’t received an apology either”.
He said it “just adds further insult to the way that this case has been dealt with”.
Kebatu was meant to be sent to an immigration detention centre on Friday but was released accidentally from HMP Chelmsford instead, triggering a two-day manhunt.
He was re-arrested on Sunday in North London and was this morning deported back to Ethiopia.
Read more: Sex offender migrant who was released by mistake finally deported to Ethiopia
Speaking about Friday night the spokesman said the girl’s dad was “in complete shock” when the family received a call around twenty minutes after the news broke about the accidental release.
He said “I don’t think there’s any way I can describe it really. We had a phone call about 20 minutes after the news broke and he was really, really distressed… I’ve never seen him like that. It was quite upsetting to listen to.”
“On Friday evening, myself and the father of the 14 year old attended HMP Chelmsford as he was looking for answers. When we got to reception, he was shut down. Basically. Nobody wanted to talk to him. He stated that he was the girl's father and he was looking for answers and he wanted to know how this was allowed to happen, but nobody wanted to talk to him, they completely shut him off.”
Kebatu had been living at the Bell Hotel in Epping in Essex, when he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman back in July.
LBC was told that the weekend has been “incredibly difficult for the family”.
“It's like a massive setback for the 14 year old. There's been a lot of work done behind the scenes. She's having counselling and she's been sort of starting to progress gradually, get her confidence back and then to find out her attacker was just freely walking the streets as a result of a police error? It’s set her back. It's really frightened her. She feared bumping into him along the high street and him recognising her.
“The girl's father actually found out that Kebatu had been released accidentally through a reporter. Nobody had contacted him before that, so that was frustrating and frightening.”
Speaking about the lack of communication from the government the spokesman said: “It's gutting for the family that they haven't heard from anybody, from the government.
“This government is responsible for this man being placed into the Bell Hotel. So I feel like the least they could do is come out and give the family some answers or an apology, at least.
“The family just want answers. They need somebody to sit down and explain how this happened and why it happened and what they're going to do going forward to make sure that this never happens again to another family. They don't want anybody to go through the trauma that they've been through.”
Kebatu arrived back in Ethiopia after being deported from the UK on Tuesday, the Home Officer has confirmed, with the migrant told he has no right to return.
It comes after it was revealed that 'human error' by a prison officer led to the release of the Epping sex offender last week.
The migrant, who had been living at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, was jailed after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman, an incident that sparked nationwide protests.
The Ethiopian national was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford on Friday at around 10:25am instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre, triggering a two-day manhunt.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said: "I am livid on behalf of the victims and the public that this mistake was allowed to happen.
“Any release in error is one too many. That is why I have taken immediate action to introduce the strongest release checks ever and launched an independent investigation to get to the bottom of what went wrong and to tackle the rise in accidental releases which began rising under the previous government.
“We’re ending the prison crisis we inherited - investing billions, reforming sentencing and building the prison places needed to keep the public safe. This Government will not rest until our jails deliver the safety and security the British people deserve."