A man who raped a young woman at an Auckland motel has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison

The defendant and the complainant had met up for a date in April 2018 -- drinking at bars in Auckland's Viaduct before going to a motel.

The court heard the complainant felt drunk and had made it clear she did not consent.

At sentencing at the High Court at Auckland this morning, the victim says while she had tried to block out everything as if it had never happened, she still woke up crying and screaming.

The defendant had rejected the guilty verdict during the trial, saying the judge had no right to convict him.