An asylum seeker staying in a hotel in Essex that became the focus of protests has been found guilty of sexual assault against a 14-year-old girl and a woman.

Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, who had been living in the Bell Hotel in Epping, was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and one of attempted sexual assault, committed days after arriving in the UK on a small boat.

Local anger over the case triggered protests outside the hotel over the summer, which far-right activists and others sought to exploit. Police have made 32 arrests and charged 21 people connection with incidents of disorder, which has included officers being assaulted.

The district judge Christopher Williams also found Kebatu guilty of one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence.

The trial concluded on Wednesday at Chelmsford magistrates court after hearings there and at Colchester magistrates court were told that Kebatu tried to kiss two girls on 7 July after one of them offered him a pizza. He also invited them to the Bell hotel, the judge heard.

A 14-year-old boy who was friends with the girls said in a video interview with police that was played to the court on Wednesday that Kebatu asked them to “come to the Bell hotel to have babies, then we could go to Kenya with each other”.

Kebatu’s advances were rejected and it was made clear to him that the girls were 14, the court heard.

Kebatu sexually assaulted a woman a day later by putting his hand on her leg after she offered to help him with his CV, the court heard. The woman, who exercised her right to remain anonymous, told the court via video link that she was left shocked and uncomfortable after Kebatu touched her. She also said she had seen him touching one of the girls.

The judge told Kebatu, who arrived in the UK on 29 June, that he could expect an immediate custodial sentence to be imposed when he returned to court on 23 September. “It’s just a question of how long any sentence is going to be,” he said.

He asked that a report be prepared about Kebatu before sentencing, noting there was little known about him. Kebatu told the court he had worked as a teacher in Ethiopia.

Essex police paid tribute to the victims and other witnesses after the verdict. The assistant chief constable Stuart Hooper said: “We’re acutely aware that this incident has attracted widespread public interest. We have always said that we treat and investigate every report made to us without fear or favour. We understand the strength of feeling in our community, but no crime should become an excuse for the disorder we have seen at times in Epping.”

The deputy chief crown prosecutor with CPS East of England, Rebecca Mundy, said she recognised the incident had become “a cause of deep concern for the local community” and that prosecutors had worked carefully and impartially to bring the case to justice.

Katie Lam, a Conservative shadow Home Office minister, said: “The crimes of this illegal migrant are shocking and heartbreaking and the victims have shown incredible bravery. This case shows the very real risks of housing illegal migrants in hotels and allowing them to roam around communities freely.

“This must never be allowed to happen again. Every illegal migrant should be detained immediately and swiftly deported. Anything less leaves vulnerable people at risk, betrays public trust, and sends entirely the wrong message about how seriously Britain takes border security.”

Kebatu had denied the charges. His barrister Molly Dyas said in her closing speech that he disputed “most of the alleged interaction with this group of children”.

During cross-examination, she had asked one of the key witnesses if she had made up her account of the incident because she was angry that Kebatu was an asylum seeker. The woman in question rejected that assertion.

The prosecutor, Stuart Cowen, who described Kebatu as a sexual predator, said the explanation he put forward at his trial was “so incredible that it lacks any credibility whatsoever”.

Hours after the verdict, Epping Forest council announced that it had taken the decision to appeal against the overturning of a temporary high court ban on the current use of the hotel to house asylum seekers.

More than 130 people are being allowed to remain at the property after three judges last Friday set aside a temporary injunction granted to the council.

However, Epping Forest said it would instruct its legal team to proceed with an application to the supreme court for permission to appeal against the court of appeal ruling.

A full high court hearing will also take place next month to discuss a permanent injunction for the Bell.