Inmate Wrongly Released From Prison Committed Sex Offence When Last at Large
Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, aged 24, was mistakenly freed from HMP Wandsworth in south-west London last Wednesday. The Metropolitan Police reported the release error only yesterday.
Authorities revealed that Kaddour-Cherif had previously committed a sex offence while unlawfully at large. The incident occurred last year when he exposed himself to a woman in a park near his home, just days after failing to appear in court on burglary charges.
Criminal Background
Kaddour-Cherif was accused of breaking into the Royal Society of Literature in Somerset House on the Strand in September 2023. After being granted bail in January, he failed to attend a hearing at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on March 1.
Later that same month, he exposed himself to a woman in Lloyd Park, Walthamstow, not far from his Tower Hamlets residence. He was also charged with handling stolen goods after police allegedly found stolen bank cards belonging to a woman in Lambeth in August 2024.
Conviction and Sentence
Kaddour-Cherif was arrested and convicted in November 2024 for indecent exposure related to the March incident.
He received an 18-month community order and was placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years.
Police Response
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the report of his mistaken release came a day after it occurred, and officers are investigating how the error happened.
Author’s summary: The case of Brahim Kaddour-Cherif exposes serious prison release errors after a previously convicted sex offender was mistakenly freed from HMP Wandsworth following his criminal history across multiple London boroughs.