20 May,2010 12:27 PM IST | | Agencies
An associate professor in a Chinese university was on Thursday sentenced to a prison term for organising group sex parties.
The Qinhuai District People's Court in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, handed down verdicts to 22 people, including associate professor Ma Yaohai, after convicting them on charges of group licentiousness.
Ma was given three-and-a-half years in jail while 18 others were sentenced to different jail terms up to two-and-a-half years. The remaining three were exempted from criminal penalties, Xinhua news agency reported.
The court was told how the 14 men and eight women met through an online chat room and engaged in dozens of group sexual activities from 2007 to 2009. Some of the parties were held in hotels, while others were held at Ma's residence.
Ma, 53, worked at a university in Nanjing. He pleaded that as all the defendants were voluntary adult participants, they were not guilty of any criminal activities.
However, the judge said group licentiousness infringed public order.
