LONDON, Sept 23, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A UK judge will sentence an Ethiopian asylum seeker on Tuesday after his conviction for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, in a case that ignited weeks of angry anti-migrant protests.

District Judge Christopher Williams warned Hadush Kebatu earlier this month that he faces a jail term after finding him guilty of five offences, including two of sexual assault and several other related charges.

The sentencing is due at a court in southeastern England at 10:00am (0900 GMT) following a three-day trial that ended on September 4.

Kebatu reportedly gave his age as 38 but court records suggest he is 41, according to the BBC.

Police had arrested him on July 8 in Epping, northeast of London, after he repeatedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and touch her legs, and made sexually explicit comments to her.

He also sexually assaulted an adult woman, placing a hand on her thigh, when she intervened to stop his interactions with the girl.

Kebatu was staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping, where around 130 other asylum seekers have been housed and which became the target of repeated protests following his arrest.

The demonstrations, fuelled by online anger, swiftly spread to other towns where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, and sparked counter-demonstrations.

Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on a small boat across the English Channel at the end of June, had denied the charges, insisting he was "not a wild animal".

The teenager said Kebatu had told her he wanted to have a baby with her after she offered him pizza because he looked hungry.

Convicting Kebatu, the district judge said there was "clear and consistent evidence he interacted with the children" and that he was "not persuaded" they had fabricated any of their testimony.

The Bell Hotel is embroiled in a legal battle pitting Epping Forest district council, which wants it emptied of asylum seekers, against its owner and the interior ministry, which are both fighting to keep using it as a shelter.

The High Court in London will hear the latest legal challenge on October 15.

A bitter national debate over immigration policy has been raging in the UK, as frustration grows over the continued arrival of small boats carrying migrants across the Channel from France.

Tens of thousands have made the dangerous crossing annually since 2018, with this year's numbers on course to be record-breaking.

The government, which has a legal duty to provide asylum seekers with housing, said just over 32,000 were in hotels at the end of June, with nearly 71,000 in "other accommodation".

It has pledged to stop using hotels for this purpose by the next election, due in 2029.

Last week three people were flown back to France by the UK government, under a new "one in, one out" scheme with the French government.