Police have said they have arrested Hadush Kebatu, after he mistakenly freed from prison on Friday.
Migrant sex offender found and arrested after manhunt
Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian national who was accidentally freed at HMP Chelmsford on Friday, has been found and arrested after a manhunt.
The Metropolitan Police says Kebatu was arrested in the Finsbury Park area of London at around 8.30am this morning.
“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,” Commander James Conway said.
Kebatu was jailed for 12 months in September for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, Essex, and had been serving his sentence at the prison since then.
But he was accidentally released from HMP Chelmsford on Friday morning, sparking a three-day manhunt.
Police said Kebatu boarded a London-bound train from Chelmsford station and was last seen on CCTV shortly before 8pm on Friday in the Dalston area of Hackney.
After news of his accidental release emerged, a Prison Service officer was suspended and removed from duties while Justice Secretary David Lammy said he was “livid”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer labelled the ordeal “totally unacceptable”.
