An asylum seeker hotel resident told police one of his alleged sexual assault victims is “young enough to be my child”, a court heard.
Colchester Magistrates’ Court was told Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, who “teaches sports” in his home country, arrived in the UK by small boat just days before alleged incidents in Epping, Essex, last month.
Footage of Kebatu’s arrest was played to the court on Wednesday, which shows the defendant crying before getting on his knees in front of police.
Prosecutor Stuart Cowen told the court Kebatu had travelled through Italy and France from Africa and “spent time in these countries” before arriving in the UK.
The court heard the defendant told a group of schoolchildren that he paid around 2,500 euros to come to the UK on a rubber dinghy.
Mr Cowen said Kebatu gave a no comment interview to police, but began the interview by denying the offences and adding “she’s young enough to be my child”.
The court also heard from one of Kebatu’s alleged victims, who said she felt “shocked” and “uncomfortable” after he allegedly touched her leg when she offered to help him with his CV.
The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said the defendant was “begging, pleading and apologising” when she later confronted him about an alleged sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl last month.
The woman rejected claims by Kebatu’s defence lawyer Molly Dyas that she had made up her account of the incident, adding: “I know exactly what I saw. I’ve no issue with asylum seekers”.
She alleges the defendant tried to kiss her, put his hand on her leg and tell her she was pretty on July 8 after she engaged in conversation.
The woman said the defendant initially ran away when she asked him what he was doing when she saw him speaking with a “young schoolgirl”.
Addressing what happened when she eventually caught up with him near the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, the woman said: “It was a lot of begging, pleading and apologising, and a lot of ‘I’m sorry, I’m going to go, it was a mistake’ – along those lines.”
The witness told the court that Kebatu “put his hand on my left thigh and I pushed his hand away” during a conversation.
The woman said she felt “shocked” and “uncomfortable” when the man touched her leg.
Her 999 call to police shortly after the alleged sexual assault on the schoolgirl was also played to the court, in which the woman said he had “done a runner”.
She could be heard repeatedly swearing before saying: “This man is a paedophile.”
On Wednesday, the court also heard Kebatu told his 14-year-old alleged victim she would be a “good wife” after paying around 2,500 euros to come to the UK on a rubber dinghy.
The defendant allegedly told the girl he wanted her to go back with him to the Bell Hotel to “have babies then… go to Kenya”.
Kebatu, who previously told the court his age is 38, is accused of attempting to kiss the teenager, putting his hand on her thigh and brushing her hair last month.
The court list suggests Kebatu’s chosen language is Tigrinya which is commonly spoken in parts of Ethiopia.
On the second day of his trial, police interviews with male friends of the alleged teenage victim were played to the court.
One of the schoolgirl’s friends, a 14-year-old boy, said Kebatu was “staring at us the whole time”, adding: “We went into Tesco and he was following us.”
In footage played to the court, the witness said Kebatu had informed him he paid about 2,500 euros to “get on a rubber dinghy to come to our country”.
Another 14-year-old boy told police the defendant described two of his teenage female friends as “pretty” and “asked for a kiss from them both”.
The boy said they gave the man a slice of pizza on July 7 and then the man “asked to have babies with (the 14-year-old girl) and this other girl, then he asked for a kiss from both of them”.
The witness added: “He just said they’re pretty and he also said do you want to come to the Bell Hotel to have babies then we could go to Kenya with each other.”
Describing a comment the man allegedly made to a girl in the group, the boy said: “The geezer said ‘come back to Africa, you would be a good wife’.”
The alleged incidents sparked protests and counter-protests outside the former Bell Hotel and similar protests have been held outside hotels across the country housing asylum seekers.
Kebatu denies two counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of harassment without violence.
The trial, now on its second day, continues.
