Epping asylum hotel resident found guilty of sexual assault

A court sketch of Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu. The case became the focus of far-right demonstrations outside the hotel in Essex where Kebatu was housed. Photograph: Elizabeth Cook/PA

An asylum seeker staying in a hotel in Essex that became the focus of protests has been found guilty of sexual assault against a 14-year-old girl and a woman.

Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, who had been living in the Bell Hotel in Epping, was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and one of attempted sexual assault, committed days after arriving in the UK on a small boat.