Asylum seeker, 24, who 'fooled' authorities into thinking he was a child jailed for groping teenage girl on train while on bail for another sex attack

By ANDY DOLAN, GENERAL REPORTER Published: 10:26, 17 June 2026 | Updated: 10:26, 17 June 2026 A 'predatory' asylum seeker who groped a teenage girl on a train after being freed on bail for another sexual assault has been jailed for a year. Meron Habtu came to the UK illegally from Eritrea in 2020 and 'fooled' the authorities into thinking he was a child so he could be placed with a host family, when he was actually 24. A year later he sexually assaulted a drunk woman after 'pestering' females coming out of bars and nightclubs. After he was released on bail, Habtu cornered a 15-year-old girl as she came out of a train toilet. He pinned her against the wall in the carriage, told her she was beautiful and said: 'All my friends call me the tracker.' Habtu touched her breast over her clothing three or four times while the girl tried to get away from him. Other passengers noticed what was happening and 'got involved' with one man telling Habtu off for his behaviour. The terrified girl was able to get back to her seat with her friend and burst into tears. The court heard Meron Habtu was 'a predator acting in broad daylight' who targeted a vulnerable teenager on the train  A probation officer said Habtu posed a 'high risk of serious harm' to women and girls and if his sexual needs are not met he may 'seek out vulnerable females'. District judge Orla Austin jailed him for a year and said it would be up to the authorities to decide whether he should deported after he is released, adding: 'I am told that they are aware of you.' Habtu, who appeared by video link from prison, kept interrupting the judge, in English, to say 'you are not doing the right thing, I haven't done it, you are not doing your job properly'. After warning him several times, she ended the link and finished sentencing in his absence. Poole Magistrates' Court heard Habtu was born in 1996 but told the authorities he was 17 when he arrived in the UK. As a result he was sent to live with a family in Upwey, near Weymouth, Dorset. The first sex offence happened in Weymouth in September 2021 and there were reports of him loitering outside of clubs pestering women. On September 11, 2022 Habtu was travelling on a train back to Weymouth having visited friends in Bournemouth when he spotted his 15-year-old victim. He 'blocked her exit' as she left the toilet. Leah Dillon, prosecuting, said: 'He has a previous conviction for sexual assault. 'He was on crown court bail awaiting sentence for that offence when he attacked this young girl. 'He was drunk, she was 15, she told him that but he carried on and pinned her against the carriage. 'She told him she was only 15 and didn't have a mobile on her. He said that's okay and got his phone out. She tried to put him off further and said I have got a boyfriend. 'She was backing away, he backed her up against a side wall saying 'all my friends call me the tracker'. 'She thought it was something about tracking her and didn't like it. She kept trying to move back to her carriage. 'He was a predator acting in broad daylight, he targeted a vulnerable young girl.' Nearly four years on from the assault his victim said she still feels unsafe on public transport. Reading a statement from her, Ms Dillon said: 'I did not consent to the male touching me in any way and his behaviour made me feel very uncomfortable and frightened. 'Watching the footage from the train had me in tears. This event changed the ending of my childhood and I grew up a lot quicker. 'Ever since this incident I have had an unpleasant and difficult time using public transport, especially trains. It's depressing to know I can never feel 100 per cent safe on public transport. 'I am constantly terrified and on edge while travelling.' The friend she was with on the day said she also struggled using public transport and refused to use bathrooms on trains. She said: 'If I see someone that slightly resembles the perpetrator I immediately freeze and begin to panic.' Habtu denied the attack but was found guilty of sexual assault of a child after a trial in April this year. During the sentencing hearing he continued to protest his innocence. Speaking through a Tigrinyan interpreter, Habtu, now aged 29, said: 'I didn't touch her. I'm not guilty. 'I know how to live with the community and I know how to treat women. I can live with the community without any danger. 'They (probation) said if they release me I might attack another woman, I don't have such kind of character, I will not do that at all.' But Judge Austin said she did not believe his 'self-serving' explanation that he stumbled into the victim by accident and the girls' accounts were truthful and corroborated by the train CCTV footage. Probation officers could not recommend Habtu be given a community-based sentence because of the risk he posed to women and girls and he had not complied with controls previously put in place. The court heard when he was sentenced for the 2021 sexual assault in February 2023 Habtu was put on the sex offender's register for five years, but failed to comply with the requirements three times in 2024 and 2025. Judge Austin told him: 'You are an asylum seeker from Eritrea where you fled to avoid military duty. 'You arrived in November 2020 and admitted to giving a false date of birth to fool the authorities into thinking you were a child on entry. 'You're currently homeless, without any recourse to public funds. 'Probation say you display rigid thinking with poor attitudes towards police and probation. 'You demonstrated poor compliance with controls, you have targeted vulnerable women. 'In the probation officer's opinion the probability of you re-offending is very high, you were previously subject to a tag which you cut off your ankle and failed to comply with registration requirements. 'You have shown no remorse and are assessed as being a high risk to females. I am entirely satisfied your risk is not manageable in the community.' She sentenced him to 12 months in prison and ordered him to sign the sex offenders' register for ten years. Judge Austin added: 'It will be for the authorities to decide whether you should deported upon your release. I am told that they are aware of you.' Habtu was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for five years to prohibit his contact with girls under 16 and females generally. The judge also praised the two girls for their bravery and courage. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. 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