Daniel Sandford
Reporting from Chelmsford Magistrates' Court

Sitting in the public gallery at the back of Court One are members of the family of the 14-year-old girl who Hadush Kebatu allegedly sexually assaulted.

Also sitting watching is the adult woman who said she was also sexually assaulted by Mr Kebatu.

She called the police on Tuesday 8th July and then followed Mr Kebatu through Epping until officers arrived.

District Judge Christopher Williams has retired to consider his verdicts.

He rises, saying he will be back at 15:30 BST to deliver his ruling.

Mr Kebatu faces five charges. They are:

• Attempted sexual assault of a girl on 7 July
• Sexual assault of the same girl on 8 July
• Sexual assault of a woman on 8 July
• Inciting the girl to engage in sexual activity on 8 July
• Harassment without violence of the girl on 7 and 8 July

Defence barrister Ms Dyas has just given her final statement.

• She calls the evidence given against Mr Kebatu "inconsistent" and urges the judge to find him not guilty
• Mr Kebatu "strongly disputes any of the conduct alleged against him," Ms Dyas says
• She adds that her client had "no motivation" to commit these crimes

Lewis Adams
Reporting from Chelmsford Magistrates' Court

The courtroom falls silent momentarily.

Then District Judge Christopher Williams tells counsel he wants to watch again a video submitted by the prosecution.

It is footage captured by a police officer's body-worn camera as the officer arrives at the scene in Epping on 8 July.

The officer speaks to the alleged 14-year-old victim, who outlines her allegations against Mr Kebatu.

The defendant has barely moved in the dock so far, continuing to lean on his left hand.

Ms Dyas says Mr Kebatu was "begging" one of the alleged victims not to call the police because he was worried about his asylum claim.

"He strongly disputes any of the conduct alleged against him," she says.

"This is a very recently arrived asylum seeker, it's hardly surprising he's begging her to calm down and stop ranting."

Ending her closing speech, Ms Dyas insists: "He had no motivation to commit these crimes.

"There are too many inconsistencies in the accounts you have been given in the Crown's case."

Referring to the sexual assault allegations made against her client, Ms Dyas urges the judge to find him not guilty.

"We say the evidence is so inconsistent that Mr Kebatu ought to be acquitted on both of these charges," she says.

The barrister says Mr Kebatu was not harassing children but instead encountered them during "meanders around Epping".

She adds: "He disputes most of the interaction with this group. He does not accept he called [one of the girls] pretty or that he made any of the alleged comments, except for saying 'Hi'."

We're currently hearing closing statements from the defence in Hadush Kebatu's trial.

But just before that, we heard prosecutor Stuart Cowen deliver his closing comments. Here's what he told the court:

• The children allegedly approached by Mr Kebatu on 7 July were trying to help him, but Mr Kebatu's response was to "abuse their good intentions and sexually corrupt them"
• Mr Cowen says it "would've been obvious they were children"
• Speaking about Mr Kebatu's suggestion that the alleged adult victim had conspired with the children to frame him, Mr Cowen says the theory "lacks any credibility whatsoever"

Molly Dyas, defending Mr Kebatu, is now delivering her closing speech.

She says the case has been the topic of political discourse since Mr Kebatu's arrest.

"There are significant problems with the Crown’s case," Ms Dyas claims, urging the judge to think "clearly, unemotionally and carefully" before ruling.

Mr Kebatu is leaning on his left hand, which is partially covering his eye, in the dock.

Giving evidence in his defence last week, Mr Kebatu suggested the alleged adult victim had conspired with the children to frame him.

Referencing this, Mr Cowen says it is a theory "so incredible that it lacks any credibility whatsoever".

With that, he ends his brief speech.

Mr Cowen says the children allegedly approached by Mr Kebatu on 7 July were trying to help him.

"The youngsters were actually being kind to Mr Kebatu, giving food to him," he tells the court.

"His response [was] to abuse their good intentions and sexually corrupt them."

Mr Cowen tells the court "it would've been obvious they were children".

The prosecutor explains how, on 8 July, one of the alleged victims was wearing her school uniform.

Prosecutor Stuart Cowen is on his feet delivering his closing speech in the trial.

He begins by saying the case has been "widely reported" in the media.

But he tells the judge: "This case must be – with no disrespect to the victims and the people of Epping – dealt with like any other case."

Lewis Adams
Reporting from Chelmsford Magistrates' Court

Hadush Kebatu has been brought into the dock here in Court One at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court.

Wearing a grey sweater and jogger bottoms, he is joined by an interpreter before taking a seat.

District Judge Christopher Williams is also in place. We will have updates direct from court.

Daniel Sandford
Home affairs correspondent

Teenage witnesses were among those to give evidence during the trial last month - the way they have been handled in this case is known as achieving best evidence (ABE).

The 14-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted and her friends all gave very brief accounts to police at the scene when Kebatu was arrested in Epping on 8 July.

Then they were later interviewed at a police station in a specialist ABE suite. A video recording of the ABE interview was later played during the trial.

What we saw is the teenage witness sitting on a small red armchair answering questions from a police officer who sits out of shot.

They went over the events slowly and carefully, covering everything a couple of times.

After each interview was played to the court, both prosecutor Stuart Cowen and Molly Dyas, for the defence, then had an opportunity to ask the witness live questions via videolink, with the witness sitting in another room in the court building.

Lewis Adams
Reporting from Chelmsford Magistrates' Court

We've just been let into Court One at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court, which is now packed with journalists ready to report on this hearing.

The public gallery was busy during both days of the trial last week – on Tuesday and Wednesday – and many have returned to hear the case reach its climax.

Kebatu didn’t show much emotion as he listened to the evidence, watching intently as CCTV was played to the court at times and occasionally leaning on his left hand while looking agitated.

It was when he entered the witness box that Kebatu became far more animated.

“I’m not a wild animal,” he told Judge Christopher Williams, as he denied the allegations against him.

The same judge may be making a ruling on the charges Kebatu faces here in Chelmsford this afternoon.

The trial of Hadush Kebatu, who is accused of sexual assaults in Epping, will resume at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court shortly - around 14:00 BST.

Kebatu has been charged with two counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of harassment without violence.

Kebatu, from Ethiopia, denies all five charges against him. While giving evidence at his trial last week, Kebatu said he is "not a wild animal".

The prosecution and defence will deliver their closing speeches this afternoon, and we expect the judge will deliver a verdict shortly afterwards.

Lewis Adams
Reporting from Chelmsford Magistrates' Court

There has been some confusion about how old Hadush Kebatu actually is.

The court has assured us that he was born in December 1983, making him 41 years old.

But Kebatu told magistrates at the start of his trial that he was born in December 1986 - making him 38 years old.

It has been a sticking point both border officials and UK authorities have been trying to get confirmed.

Image source, PA Media

On the first day of the trial, prosecutor Stuart Cowen told the judge the incidents "attracted quite a lot of publicity" due to the defendant's personal circumstances.

Hadush Kebatu is from Ethiopia and was staying at The Bell Hotel in Epping as an asylum seeker.

Thousands of people gathered in protest near the hotel in the weeks following Kebatu's arrest - as well as groups of counter-protesters.

Dozens were subsequently arrested in connection with disorder near the hotel, and many have since been charged.

The use of the hotel to house asylum seekers has itself been subject to its own court hearings.

Epping Forest District Council had secured a temporary injunction from the High Court ahead of a trial due later this year - which would have meant all migrants had to leave the hotel by 12 September.

That was then overturned by the Court of Appeal, meaning those at the hotel can stay for now. The council has since lost a legal attempt to appeal to the Supreme Court.

A full High Court hearing for a final decision on the hotel is expected in mid-October.

You can read more on the legal battle here.

Hadush Kebatu has been charged with:

• Two counts of sexual assault - against one 14-year-old girl and one woman
• One count of attempted sexual assault
• One count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity
• One count of harassment without violence

He denies all five charges against him.

Kebatu's trial has been heard across magistrates' courts in both Colchester and Chelmsford - that means it looks slightly different to a trial being heard at a crown court.

Principally, there are no juries in magistrates' courts - criminal cases are heard by either a panel of magistrates or a district judge.

In this case, District Judge Christopher Williams is presiding over the trial.

Magistrates' courts deal with summary cases, which are cases considered less serious, as well as some either-way offences - which are cases that can either be heard by a magistrates' court or a crown court, and can include sexual offences.

During Kebatu's first court appearance, we heard he arrived in the UK on 29 June.

Giving evidence last week, a witness claimed to have overheard him saying he paid €2,500 (£2,155) to get on a “rubber dinghy” and enter the country.

However, Kebatu disputed this figure in the witness box, saying he paid about €1,800 to cross the English Channel.

He told the judge it had been “years and years” since he’d been in his home country of Ethiopia.

"Where did you come from and how did you get into the UK?" prosecutor Stuart Cowen asked him.

Kebatu said he travelled through Ethiopia, Sudan, Libya, Italy and France on his way to this country.