Emal Kochai attempted to board a small boat headed for the UK when the crossing failed, leading to the police stopping the boat and puncturing it with a knife, according to The Times.
Kochai was imprisoned in 2014 after being found guilty of raping a 12-year-old girl in a house in Reading, Berkshire. He was subsequently sentenced to jail for nine years, but was deported out of the UK halfway through is sentence.
The Afghan migrant reportedly told The Times that he was attempting to re-enter the UK illegally, suggesting that he had "changed his ways." However, he would not reveal why he had been jailed in the UK, adding: "I don't like telling people about it because they get the wrong idea about me. It was all a misunderstanding... I have learnt now, I want to do something better. I had a hard life in prison and want to change my ways."
The Times discovered Kochai's offense after he provided his name and revealed that he had moved to the UK when he was 15, living with two separate foster families.
It was reported that Kochai had raped the young girl in a house where there were six or seven other men, according to the report.
Kochai was allegedly 20 years old at the time, and insisted that he believed the victim to be 17 at the time of the assault. Kochai's friend, also from Afghanistan, was accused of rape, but he was not found guilty.
Kochai does not believe the UK government's Illegal Migration Bill will prevent him from attempting to get into the UK, saying that "I will never give up trying to get to the UK. I have been in France for three months and we don't get anything. In the UK I can get education, a job and a house. My brother was killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan and it is not safe for me there."
UK Prime Minister has said, "Illegal migration is not fair on British taxpayers, it is not fair on those who come here legally and it is not right that criminal gangs should be allowed to continue their immoral trade."
"I am determined to deliver on my promise to stop the boats. So make no mistake, if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay."
