Asylum seeker at Epping migrant hotel is charged with sexual assault after Ethiopian charged for ‘attacking girls’ in a separate incident sparked huge protests
A migrant residing at the asylum seeker hotel at the centre of a series of recent protests has been charged with a litany of offences including sexual assault – weeks after another migrant was charged in connection with an unrelated, separate incident.
Mohammed Sharwarq, a Syrian national living at the Bell Hotel in Epping, faces seven charges linked to offences alleged to have been committed between July 25 and August 12.
The 32-year-old is facing two counts of common assault, four counts of assault by beating and a single count of sexual assault on a man, contrary to section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2002.
Essex Police said they arrested a 32-year-old man after being called to the Bell Hotel in Epping on August 12 before taking him in for questioning.
Sharwarq was then charged and was due to appear in court today.
Police are pictured outside the Bell Hotel on July 31 on an unrelated matter. The Epping hotel is being used to house migrants
Protests began outside the hotel a month ago (protesters on August 8 pictured)
The hotel has been put behind fencing to separate it from protesters (pictured: notices attached to a security fence)
A spokesperson for the force said: ‘Mohammed Sharwarq, a Syrian national who resides at The Bell Hotel, Epping has been charged with the following offences: two counts of common assault; four counts of assault by beating; one count of sexual assault on a male contrary to section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
‘The offences are alleged to have taken place between 25 July and 12 August.
‘He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court today, Wednesday 13 August.
‘Officers are not currently seeking any other suspects in relation with this case.’
The Bell Hotel has been at the epicentre of a series of anti-immigration protests held outside asylum seeker accommodation after a separate incident in which an Ethiopian migrant was charged with a series of unrelated sexual offences.
Hadush Kebatu, 38, has appeared in court to deny three charges of sexual assault against two girls aged 14 and 16, inciting a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity and harassment without violence.
Kebatu is alleged to have put his hand on a 14-year-old schoolgirl’s leg, asked her for a kiss and suggested they make ‘Jamaican babies’ in Epping over two days, Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court was told.
He had arrived in the UK by small boat days prior to the alleged offences being committed, said to have happened between July 6 and 9.
Scenes of protesters waving St George’s flags outside the Essex lodings have since spread to other accommodation across the country.