A manhunt was launched in November for Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, a convicted sex offender mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth. The Algerian national, overstaying his visa in the UK since 2020, was convicted in 2024 for indecent exposure in a London park.
Kaddour-Cherif, 24, pleaded guilty to burglary for breaking into a garage in Walthamstow to steal bikes and carrying a knife in Earlswood. The incidents occurred on January 6, 2024, and November 13, 2023, respectively. Judge Simon Heptonstall remanded him back into custody for sentencing on January 27.
Additionally, Kaddour-Cherif faces sentencing for missing a court hearing in September 2023 while on bail. His accidental release from prison was a source of embarrassment for the Government, following another mistaken release of a migrant convicted of sexual assault.
Official data disclosed a significant increase in erroneous prisoner releases, with 262 cases reported in the year to March 2025, up 128% from the previous year. Kaddour-Cherif, residing in Whitechapel, had previously denied the charges and was awaiting trial before being mistakenly released in October.
He was apprehended in Finsbury Park after a public tip-off. His previous conviction resulted in community service and registration as a sex offender. Efforts to deport him led to a brief detention in an immigration center last year before he was released on immigration bail.
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