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A man who raped a woman outside a Melbourne hospital after he followed her in a "brazen, predatory and unwanted" manner will spend at least five years behind bars.

Jamie Macarthur, 50, had consumed large quantities of alcohol – and perhaps drugs – when he started talking to a woman in her 20s at a city tram stop in the early hours of March 16, 2017.

On the tram, the woman tried to get away but Macarthur, a New Zealand citizen, grabbed her by the neck and waist, pulling her towards him, kissing her and putting his hands on her.

"The victim was in fear of you and tried to diffuse the situation by placating you," County Court Judge Irene Lawson said, while sentencing Macarthur on Friday.

"She did not know how to get out of the situation she found herself in and tried to make eye contact with a passenger, but the passenger just looked back at her."