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A man who violently raped a young virgin as she walked to her boyfriend's home was caught after a BBC Crimewatch appeal.

Mebrehtom Abrha, 25, originally from Eritrea in East Africa, pursued the woman for 10 minutes before shoving her to the ground, the Birmingham Mail reports .

Liverpool Crown Court heard how Abrha, who now lives in Aston, Birmingham, ripped her dress and raped her twice before casually walking away, at around 6.30am on July 19, last year.

David McLachlan, prosecuting, said the victim had been out clubbing in Liverpool and saw her boyfriend, who worked in the city centre.

They agreed to meet up later and she went back to her flat, packed a bag and set off to her partner’s home.

(Image: Police handout)

The woman, who described herself as being “slightly drunk”, intended to catch a taxi but there were none around.

Mr McLachlan said she began walking the mile and a half route but ran most of the way in her heels as it was raining heavily.

She did not realise anybody was following her as she passed Crown Park and only spotted her attacker when he crept up from behind.

Mr McLachlan said: “All she remembered was ending up on the ground. She guessed she had been thrown over.

“She remembered being shocked and thinking ‘this can’t be happening’.”

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The young woman tried to push Abrha off but he ripped her dress open and raped her.

Mr McLachlan said: “She started screaming, She was shouting ‘please don’t’. She said ‘I’m a virgin, please don’t do this to me’.

“She described how he got up and walked away in a casual manner. He didn’t run away, he just walked off.”

Mr McLachlan said Abrha did not speak during the four-minute ordeal “apart from the odd phrase ‘get a better number’.”

The victim, who was covered in dirt and suffered injuries to her back and neck, ran to her boyfriend’s home and he called the police.

Mr McLachlan said the woman had to undergo testing for sexually transmitted diseases , but fortunately these proved negative.

(Image: Police handout)

She was only able to describe her attacker as black, tall and skinny.

Police watched CCTV and, spotting the rapist, traced his movements back to 4am, when he was thrown out of Modo bar in Concert Square.

He was seen drinking on his own in two bars in Slater Street, urinating against a wall in Wood Street, and following the woman near Crown Park.

His DNA did not match any known offenders and police arranged for a reconstruction to be shown on Crimewatch on October 12.

As a result of information received afterwards, officers arrested Abrha at his home in Dunsink Road in Aston, Birmingham.

He made no comment but a DNA sample was taken, which linked him to the crime.

The court heard Abrha had been living in Egerton Road, Wavertree for a year, but fled the city after an initial Merseyside Police appeal when his picture was released.

The defendant, with black hair and beard, admitted two counts of rape through a Tigrinya interpreter in the dock. He has no previous convictions in this country.

Mr McLachan said he “humiliated and degraded” his victim, leaving her with “severe psychological harm’.

Judge David Aubrey, QC, said he needed to know what may have caused a man with no previous convictions to commit such a serious crime.

The judge said he needed to consider whether Abrha was a dangerous offender and it would be “unwise to proceed” without a pre-sentence report.

Judge Aubrey adjourned sentencing until Monday and remanded Abrha in custody.