His crimes sparked protests and counter-demonstrations outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, where he had been living as an asylum seeker.
In a personal statement to the court, his 14-year-old victim said she now feels “vulnerable and exposed” when wearing a skirt as a result of the assault.
David Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, is said to be furious and has ordered an investigation, according to a Government source.
Lammy is also supporting police efforts to find Kebatu.
A prison service source said: “It is down to human error. It appears the wrong form was filled out or something similar. There is an investigation to get to the bottom of it.”
A spokesman added: “We are urgently working with police to return an offender to custody following a release in error at HMP Chelmsford.
“Public protection is our top priority and we have launched an investigation into this incident.”
It is understood the officer responsible for authorising Kebatu’s release has been removed from discharging duties while the investigation is ongoing.
The Home Office was ready to take the offender to an immigration removal centre before his planned deportation to Ethiopia.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said: “The Epping hotel migrant sex attacker has been accidentally freed rather than deported. He is now walking the streets of Essex. Britain is broken.”
In a statement on social media, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch: “Labour can’t run a bath.
“Conservatives voted against Labour’s prisoner release programme because it was putting predators back on our streets.
“But this man has only just been convicted. A level of incompetence that beggars belief.”
Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: “The case of Hadush Kebatu is a parable for how the British state consistently fails the British people. It’s outrageous the victims have been failed in this way. The whole saga is a national embarrassment. He should have been on a flight out of the UK long ago.”
It is the latest migration embarrassment for Sir Keir Starmer, coming just days after a Channel migrant deported to France under the “one in, one out” scheme returned to the UK on a small boat.
The organiser of protests against migrants staying at The Bell Hotel, mum-of-five Sarah White, said “the people of Epping will be furious”.
She told the Telegraph: “This is absolutely outrageous. I am lost for words at how utterly useless the system is.
“We’re all in danger again. I am staggered. Heads should roll. It’s a scandal.
“We’re scared all over again. This monster could be anywhere.”
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