Two individuals have confessed to participating in acts of violent disorder following protests outside a hotel accommodating asylum seekers in Essex. Luke Fleming, aged 21 and hailing from Buckhurst Hill, and Shaun Thompson, aged 38 and residing in Epping, admitted to the charge of violent disorder during a demonstration outside The Bell Hotel in Epping on July 17 last year at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday.
Thompson, who is from Epping, had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage, specifically for allegedly damaging a police car. Judge Alexander Mills granted bail to the defendants and mentioned that a date for sentencing would be arranged in the near future.
Demonstrations occurred outside The Bell Hotel over the summer following allegations against asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu for the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. Kebatu, an Ethiopian national who had recently arrived in the UK, was found guilty of five offenses, including sexual assault, at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court.
Despite being sentenced to jail, Kebatu was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford in October but was later apprehended and deported to Ethiopia.