CHELMSFORD, United Kingdom (AFP) — A court in England on Thursday convicted an Ethiopian asylum seeker of the sexual assault of a teenage girl and a woman, a case that ignited weeks of angry protests.

Hadush Kebatu was arrested on July 8 in Epping, northeast of London, after the two teenage victims complained he had tried to touch their legs. The 14-year-old girl also said he had tried to kiss her.

After a three-day trial, he was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of harassment without violence.

Kebatu, thought to be 38, was staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping, where about 130 other refugees were housed and which following his arrest for the assaults became the target of repeated protests.

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

Kebatu, who arrived in the United Kingdom on a small boat across the Channel at the end of June, had told the court he did not ask the girl for a kiss.

He only said “hello” to her and her friend because he was “worried about my asylum case”, he added.

“I’m not a wild animal. I can’t do these kind of things. These are children, new generation,” he said, speaking through an interpreter.

He alleged that the woman was “drunk” and that she had said to him: “You are very handsome -– you need to come to my house.”

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

The judge told the court there was “clear and consistent evidence he interacted with the children.

“I’m not persuaded there is any evidence that the children fabricated the evidence they gave,” the judge added.

Kebatu did not react as the verdict was read. He will be sentenced on September 23.

The Bell Hotel is now at the centre of a legal battle between Epping Forest district council, which wants it emptied of refugees, and the interior ministry, which is fighting to keep using it as a shelter.

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

More than 50,000 migrants have made the dangerous Channel crossing from northern France since the Labour Party’s Keir Starmer became prime minister in July 2024.

This year’s numbers are on course to be record breaking.