A convicted sex offender, whose mistaken release from prison triggered a national outcry, has admitted biting two off-duty police officers during an attempted theft on the London Underground.
Chaotic Scuffle on the Tube Platform
At Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on Thursday, Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, pleaded guilty to assaulting two emergency workers. The incident occurred at Blackhorse Road Underground station in east London on July 20.
Prosecutor Deborah Kol explained that officers Jason Norton and Bradley Glynn, who were not in uniform and unknown to each other, were coincidentally on the same train. They separately saw Kaddour-Cherif trying to take mobile phones from passengers, including one who was asleep.
When Mr Glynn intervened between 6.30am and 7am, Kaddour-Cherif refused to return a device. A scuffle broke out on the platform after they exited the carriage. Mr Norton came to his colleague's aid as both officers tried to restrain the defendant, who then bit them both.
A Pattern of Offending and Government Embarrassment
The bitten officers required wound cleaning and a week's course of penicillin. Kaddour-Cherif, who appeared via video link from HMP Pentonville, offered an apology through his defence lawyer, Jeffrey Shine.
Magistrates, led by Lady Jane Grabiner, deferred sentencing for the assaults until after a separate crown court hearing. They noted the offences were aggravated because the victims were emergency workers. Kaddour-Cherif has six convictions for 10 offences between 2024 and 2025.
His accidental release from HMP Wandsworth in November was a significant embarrassment for the Government. It followed another case where a migrant, Hadush Kebatu, was wrongly freed. Official data shows 262 prisoners were released in error in the year to March 2025, a 128% increase.
Pending Sentencing for Multiple Crimes
Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian national who has overstayed his visa since 2020, is due for sentencing on several other charges. He recently pleaded guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court to a burglary in Orford Road, Walthamstow, on January 6, 2024, where he stole bikes from a garage.
He also admitted at Kingston Crown Court to carrying a knife in Burntwood Road, Earlswood, on November 13, 2023. Sentencing for these crimes, and for missing a court hearing, is set for January 27 at Snaresbrook. He will be sentenced for the assaults on January 30.
Kaddour-Cherif, who lives in Whitechapel, was originally convicted in 2024 for indecent exposure in a London park, resulting in an 18-month community order and placement on the sex offenders' register for five years. He was detained for deportation in June last year but was soon released on immigration bail.
