A Syrian living at the now notorious Bell Hotel in Epping was charged with sexual assault on Wednesday, August 13th. Migrant Mohammed Sharwarq was arrested on Tuesday and remanded in custody, charged with two counts of common assault, four of assault by beating, and one count of sexual assault on a male over the course of the past three weeks.
The Bell Hotel became the focus of protests when another resident, 38-year-old Ethiopian Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, was charged with three sexual assaults on a minor in July. Kebatu crossed the Channel illegally on June 29, 2025, and is due to stand trial later this month at Colchester magistrates’ court for the sex crimes.
Both arrests have highlighted residents’ concerns about the local impact of large numbers of undocumented young men being concentrated in residential areas while their asylum claims are processed and subsequently fought over at migration tribunals. Against this backdrop, local protests look set to grow and increase pressure on Keir Starmer’s government.
