A manhunt continues to locate a migrant sex offender who was mistakenly released from prison.
Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was sentenced to 12 months in September for the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. However, he was freed from HMP Chelmsford on Friday instead of being transferred to an immigration detention centre.
Kebatu was wrongly categorised as a prisoner due for release on licence and was mistakenly handed a £76 discharge grant.
He was last seen shortly before 8pm on Friday in the Dalston area of Hackney, east London, police said.
"He was still wearing his prison-issue grey tracksuit top and bottoms, but is now carrying his belongings in a distinctive white bag with pictures of avocados on it."
The Metropolitan Police is leading the search, and Commander James Conway issued a direct appeal to Kebatu on Sunday, urging him to surrender at a police station.
It remains unclear whether the offender is aware of the ongoing manhunt.
"I am making a direct appeal to Mr Kabatu. We want to locate you in a safe and controlled way,” Commander Conway said.
“You had already indicated a desire to return to Ethiopia when speaking to immigration staff.
"The best outcome for you is to make contact directly with us by either calling 999 or reporting yourself to a police station."
Commander Conway asked for members of the public who have provided Kebatu with assistance to contact them or anyone who sees him to call 999.
Met Police revealed that Kebatu had taken a train from Chelmsford to Stratford, London, arriving at 1.12pm on Friday and then had taken "a number of journeys" across London and had "access to funds".
He was spotted later in Chelmsford town centre asking for assistance before getting on a train to London.
It is understood that Kebatu left prison with an amount of personal money.
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said that he had not been given a discharge grant, which prisoners leaving a custodial sentence are entitled to in order to cover subsistence costs, because he was set to be deported.
Inmates leaving prison for deportation do not qualify for the handout.
A delivery driver described seeing Kebatu return to HMP Chelmsford in a "very confused" state "four or five times", only to be turned away by prison staff and directed to the railway station.
The driver, named only as Sim, told Sky News that he saw Kebatu come out of the prison saying: "Where am I going? What am I doing?"
He said that Kebatu knew that he should be deported but the prison staff were "basically sending him away" and saying to him "Go, you've been released, you go".
The driver said: "He kept scratching his head and saying, 'where do I go, where do I go?'
"The fourth or fifth time (he went into the reception) he was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed.
"I'm not sticking up for the guy, but in my eyes, he was trying to do the right thing.
"He knew he was getting deported, but he didn't know where he was going or how he should get there."
Sir Keir Starmer said he was "appalled" at the accidental release and said it was "totally unacceptable", adding: "This man must be caught and deported for his crimes."
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said he was "livid on behalf of the public" and added that he had launched an investigation.
A prison officer has been taken off duties to discharge prisoners while an investigation takes place.
In the 12 months to March this year, 262 prisoners were released in error in England and Wales, according to the prison service's annual digest which was a 128% increase from 115 the previous year with 233 involving prisons.
A report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, after an inspection in January and February 2024, said HMP Chelmsford faced "considerable pressures" because of "national capacity issues" while suffering staff shortfalls in reception and the pre-release team.
Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on a small boat eight days before the incidents in July, was convicted of making inappropriate comments to a 14-year-old girl before he tried to kiss her on July 7 - just eight days after he arrived in the country on a small boat.
His trial also heard that a day later, he sexually assaulted a woman by trying to kiss her, putting his hand on her leg and telling her she was pretty.
This woman later called 999 after she spotted him being inappropriate to the same teenage girl whom he sexually assaulted while she was wearing her school uniform.
The migrant was found guilty of five offences after a three-day trial at Chelmsford and Colchester magistrates' courts in September.
The court heard at his sentencing hearing that it was his "firm wish" to be deported.
In court, Kebatu gave his date of birth through a translator as being in December 1986 making him 38 years old although Essex Police have said their records state his date of birth is in December 1983 making him 41.
It is understood the Home Office was ready to take him to an immigration removal centre before a planned deportation.
Kebatu's case led to protesters and counter-protesters taking to the streets in Epping, Essex, and eventually outside hotels housing asylum seekers across the country.
