An asylum seeker hotel resident has told a court he did not attempt to kiss a 14-year-old girl because he is “not a wild animal”.
Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu denies touching the teenager last month, just days after arriving in the UK on a small boat.
He told Colchester Magistrates’ Court he only said “hello” to the schoolgirl and her friends in Epping, Essex, and nothing more because he was “worried about my asylum case”.
Kebatu, who was a “teacher of sports” in his home country, said the offences he is alleged to have committed are “anti-Christian” and that he would “prefer actually to die than to do these kind of things”.
He told the court he was on camera on his knees apologising to one of the alleged victims because she was “drunk” and “agitated” and he was “worried about ramifications on the other immigrants” at the Bell Hotel.
The defendant said he had been living in the hotel for around a week before his arrest after travelling through Sudan, Libya, Italy and France in order to get to the UK.
On Wednesday, Molly Dyas, defending, asked Kebatu if he tried to kiss the girl.
Speaking through a Tigrinya interpreter, he replied: “I’m not a wild animal.
“I can’t do these kind of things. These are children, new generation.”
Giving evidence in the witness box, the defendant said his alleged teenage sexual assault victim did not tell him she was 14 and he denied asking her for a kiss.
Questioned on whether there was any other form of conversation with the teenager and her friends on July 7, Kebatu responded: “No, there was not any other kind of conversation. I was worried about my case.”
Asked what case he was referring to, the defendant said: “I was worried about my asylum case.”
Rejecting the accusations made against him, Kebatu added: “I’m not such a person, I can’t do such activities.”
Kebatu said the woman who also accuses him of sexual assault told him, “You are handsome, I want you to come to my home”.
He claimed the woman said “if he failed to come to (her) house, you’re speaking to the students, I will call the police and you will be arrested”.
Questioned about why he could be seen in footage on his knees saying sorry, the defendant said: “At that time she was drunk, she was very agitated and I just wanted to calm her.
“I was going to the Bell Hotel at that time and I was worried about the ramifications on the other immigrants.”
Kebatu denied touching a 14-year-old girl on July 7 and 8, saying: “She more or less could be my daughter, she’s very young, I can’t do that, I’m not a wild animal.”
He rejected claims he told the girl to kiss her 14-year-old friend, telling the court: “No, I didn’t say that, I can’t do these kind of things, this is anti-Christian – these are just children, innocent children.”
The court also heard from the alleged adult victim, 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 the 14-year-old girl.
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 told her she was pretty on July 8 after she engaged in conversation.
The court also heard Kebatu allegedly told his 14-year-old alleged victim she should “come back to Africa, you would be a good wife”.
The defendant is accused of telling 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 alleged incidents sparked protests and counter-protests outside the former Bell Hotel and similar protests have been held outside hotels housing asylum seekers across the country.
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.
Verdicts in the trial are expected to be reached on September 4 at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court following closing speeches.
