If it weren’t so depressing, it would almost be funny. Last weekend, the UK watched in horror as the Metropolitan Police unleashed a two-day manhunt for a convicted sex offender and illegal migrant who had been accidentally released from prison.
How did we get here? Hadush Kebatu, a 41-year-old Ethiopian, entered the UK by small boat in June this year and was placed in an asylum centre at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex. Just a few days after his arrival, he approached a 14-year-old girl wearing her school uniform in Epping town centre, making sexually explicit comments and attempting to kiss her. The next day, he tried to kiss a different woman, before encountering the 14-year-old again and sexually assaulting her. He was arrested and charged.
