A prisoner who was mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth in London committed a sexual offense during his previous unauthorized absence. Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was serving time at the prison when the error occurred last Wednesday but was only reported to the police by the prison authorities the following day.
It has been disclosed that Kaddour-Cherif exposed himself to a woman at a park close to his residence shortly after failing to appear in court for burglary charges. He was accused of breaking into the Royal Society of Literature at Somerset House on the Strand in September 2023.
Despite being granted bail in January, Kaddour-Cherif did not attend a hearing at Stratford Magistrates’ Court in March. Subsequently, he was involved in another incident where he exposed himself to a woman in Lloyd Park, near his home in Tower Hamlets, east London.
Following an incident in which he was found in possession of stolen bank cards in Lambeth, Kaddour-Cherif was arrested and later convicted of indecent exposure in November 2024. He received an 18-month community order and was placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years.
On September 9 this year, he was arrested again for failing to appear in court, violating probation conditions, and breaching requirements as a registered sex offender. Kaddour-Cherif had prior charges related to possession of a knife and burglary.
The Metropolitan Police were notified of the mistaken release of Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian national, and are actively searching for him to return him to custody. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy expressed his outrage over the incident and confirmed efforts to bring him back to prison.
This release mishap occurred shortly after enhanced security measures were implemented in prisons and an investigation was initiated into similar erroneous releases following a previous case involving a migrant mistakenly released from prison instead of being transferred to an immigration detention center.
