Mebrahtom Abrha – Ellesmere Port

A Eritrean migrant prevoously convicted of rape has now been jailed for breaching the requirements of a Sex Offenders Order.

Mebrahtom Abrha was sentenced to six months imprisonment on Monday 19 October after being found guilty of two counts of failing to comply with the requirements of a Sex Offenders Order following a four-day trial at Chester Crown Court.

Over the course of his trial, it was heard that Abrha, who is of Grace Road, Ellesmere Port, but is originally from Eritrea, had previously been handed a 15 year sentence in 2016 after he was convicted of rape.

As part of the sentence, the 36-year-old was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life, with the requirements that he must notify police of any banking accounts he had access to or registered for.

In April 2026, shortly after his release from prison, officers from the Sex Offenders Management Unit (SOMU) visited Abrha alongside probation teams.

As part of the visit, officers examined Abrha’s devices and discovered that he had two online banking apps on his mobile phone. During a subsequent search, they also found two bank cards on his person.

Checking their management systems, it was found that Abrha had not disclosed to officers that he had opened for these accounts, a clear breach of his Sex Offenders Order.

Following his arrest, the 35-year-old would tell officers that he did not understand the terms of his order as English was his second language.

This was in spite of him having conversed with police and probation teams in fluent English, previously having the requirements of the order explained to him in depth by SOMU officers and him signing the document itself confirming that he understood what was required of him.

He also went on to say he thought that he needed to register bank accounts with officers once he had set them up, deposited money into them and been sent a banking card, claiming that he would have registered them given the chance.