Man mistakenly freed from Chelmsford prison amid deportation process

An Ethiopian man convicted last month of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman was accidentally released from HMP Chelmsford on Friday morning, prompting a police manhunt and an internal investigation, officials said. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, had been serving a 12-month sentence and was due to be transferred to an immigration removal centre for deportation when he was mistakenly freed, the Prison Service and government sources said.

Kebatu had been jailed in September for a series of offences that occurred in July. He had been in custody for about four weeks before the error, and authorities said he should have been moved directly from the prison to an immigration facility as part of deportation procedures. Essex Police and the Prison Service are working together to locate him and return him to custody.

A Prison Service spokesperson said the service was "urgently working with police to return an offender to custody following a release in error at HMP Chelmsford" and that public protection is a top priority. The spokesperson added that an investigation into the circumstances of the release has been launched. A senior prison officer has been removed from duties...