This is the moment a migrant breaks down in tears as he is arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old schoolgirl.
Body-worn police footage shows Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, being handcuffed at the side of the road in Epping, Essex.
The asylum seeker, who arrived in the country on a small boat a few days earlier, was staying at the controversial Bell Hotel.
He is accused of grabbing the teenager’s thigh as she sat on a bench with friends after school.
At Colchester Magistrates’ Court, Mr Kebatu – who claimed to be a teacher in his native country – insisted he would never harm a child as he was a Christian and ‘not a wild animal’.
Asked if he had even spoken to the girl and her friends, he said: ‘No, there wasn’t any other kind of conversation. I was worried about my asylum case.
‘I am not a wild animal, I can’t do these things. These are children, they are fragile. I am a Christian, it is not in my culture.’
Asked what he had been doing in Essex, Mr Kebatu said: ‘This is the UK, I have a right of movement. I was walking with my friend.’
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, became emotional when he was arrested in Epping
The small-boat migrant is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old schoolgirl just days after he arrived in Britain
Separate footage showed Kebatu walking around Epping. He insisted he has ‘right of movement’ in the UK
In the video, a police officer is seen telling Mr Kebatu: ‘I’m arresting you on suspicion of sexual assault of a female under 16 years old.’
Kebatu, wearing a blue tracksuit top, asks: ‘How much minutes?’ – believed to mean ‘how long will this take?’
When it is explained to him that he is being arrested for sexually assaulting a child, Mr Kebatu breaks down in tears.
The officer tells him: ‘Don’t cry, it’s going to be okay.’
Mr Kebatu is accused of approaching the uniformed schoolgirl and her friends while they sat on a bench after school on July 7, and again the following day.
On both occasions, it’s claimed, he told the girl how pretty she was and told her he wanted to ‘make babies’ with her.
On the second day, he allegedly grabbed her thigh, told her she would be ‘a good wife’ and asked her to go back to his hotel with him.
Mr Kebatu denies five charges including sexual assault.
At Colchester Magistrates’ Court, he fiercely denied the allegations, insisting he was a teacher in his native Ethiopia.
He said: ‘I am not a wild animal. I can’t do these kind of things. These are children, the next generation. I am a Christian, it is not in my culture.
‘This is the UK, I have a right of movement. I was walking with my friend. I am not a criminal.’
A woman who allegedly saw the assault on July 8 told the court how he made excuses when she intervened.
‘The girl looked uncomfortable,’ she said. ‘I saw her stand up and move his hand away from her leg.
Mr Kebatu denies five charges including sexual assault (court sketch from August 26)
Mr Kebatu said he was a teacher in his native Ethiopia and would never attack children
Councillors in Epping won an injunction to shut down the Bell Hotel, where migrants including Mr Kebatu were housed
‘He is a grown man. She is a child. That is not appropriate.
‘I asked [Mr Kebatu] what was going on. He said it was nothing. I told him it didn’t look like nothing, and that she was in a school uniform.
‘He said she was flirting with him. This made me feel disgusted and angry. I called him a paedophile and began shouting.
‘He tried to say that I was wrong and that it was a mistake, but I just continued to shout and make a scene.
‘He ran away, so I called the police and followed him. When I caught up he started begging, pleading and apologising, saying “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it was a mistake”.’
The court also heard a dramatic recording of the 999 call the woman made, in which she called Mr Kebatu ‘touchy-feely’ and could be heard screaming at him.
She was heard shouting: ‘You want to walk around this area talking to minors? Paedo! Look at you running off!
‘I’ve got a problem with weirdo paedophiles who think it’s OK to speak to 14-year-olds in school uniform.
‘This is the second time I’ve seen men from that same hotel talking to young girls.’
Mr Kebatu’s arrest led to a huge anti-migrant demonstration in Epping, prompting the local council to seek an injunction that shut down the Bell Hotel.
A second man who was staying at the hotel, Syrian migrant Mohammed Sharwarq, has also been charged with sexual assault, which he denies.
Mr Kebatu denies three counts of sexual assault, one attempted sexual assault, one charge of harassment and one of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. The trial continues.
