A foreign sex offender who was wrongly released from a London prison has been apprehended by police in a dramatic morning arrest witnessed by Sky News.
The Mistaken Release and Arrest
Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, a 24-year-old Algerian national, was mistakenly freed from HMP Wandsworth in south London on 29 October. The Prison Service only informed the Metropolitan Police about this serious error six days later, triggering an extensive manhunt for the convicted offender.
The situation culminated on Friday morning when Kaddour-Cherif was arrested in Finsbury Park, north London, at 11.30am. Sky News journalists were present at the scene and witnessed the detention firsthand. Following his arrest, Kaddour-Cherif claimed that the administrative mix-up at the prison was entirely the fault of the authorities.
Background of the Offender
Kaddour-Cherif is a registered sex offender who was convicted of indecent exposure in November last year following an incident that occurred in March. For this offence, he received a community order and was placed on the sex offenders' register for five years.
He subsequently received a prison sentence in June for possessing a knife. Immigration records indicate that Kaddour-Cherif originally entered the UK legally and is not an asylum seeker, but he is understood to have overstayed his visit visa, with deportation proceedings already initiated against him.
Pattern of Prison Errors
This incident marks the second such security failure within days at the same facility. Kaddour-Cherif's mistaken release occurred just five days after the wrongful release of convicted sex offender Hadush Kebatu from the same institution.
The repeated errors at HMP Wandsworth have raised serious questions about prison security protocols and administrative procedures. It remains unclear why there was nearly a week's delay between Kaddour-Cherif's release and the notification to police that a registered sex offender was at large in the community.
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed the arrest and are continuing their investigations while the Prison Service faces mounting pressure to explain these concerning security lapses.
