Two individuals have confessed to participating in violent disorder subsequent to protests outside a lodging accommodating asylum seekers in Essex. Luke Fleming, aged 21 from Buckhurst Hill, and Shaun Thompson, aged 38, admitted their guilt at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday for the charge of violent disorder stemming from a demonstration outside The Bell Hotel in Epping on July 17 last year. Thompson, a resident of Epping, had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage for allegedly striking a police car. Following their admissions, Judge Alexander Mills granted bail to the defendants and stated that a sentencing date would be arranged in the future.
Throughout the summer, numerous demonstrations took place outside The Bell Hotel, triggered by the arrest of asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu on charges of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. The Ethiopian national, who had recently arrived in the UK via a small vessel, was ultimately convicted of five offenses, including sexual assault, at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court. Kebatu was incarcerated but was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford in October before being recaptured and deported to Ethiopia later that month.
