An 18-year-old asylum seeker has been jailed for five years after raping a woman he targeted on a tram on his way to a migrant camp.

The Syrian national, named only as Abdulrahman A., at Hanover Regional Court on 17th July, had spotted his unsuspecting 34-year-old victim as she travelled home from a party.

Judges heard how when she got off he followed her and dragged her violently into nearby woodlands.

After the brutal rape he hopped back on the tram and carried on to the refugee shelter where he was staying.

Police later identified him with the help of surveillance CCTV footage.

Abdulrahman A., who had been in the country just a few months, pled guilty at a juvenile court hearing.

Prosecutors had demanded three years of juvenile detention, but judges imprisoned him for five years.

After completing his sentence, he will be handed over to immigration authorities who will decide if he should be deported back to Syria.

(Simona Kitanovska / newsX)