Man imprisoned after forcing woman to take nude photos

Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court has upheld a lower court's decision to sentence a Jiangsu Province man to three years and six months in prison for forcing a woman to pose for naked photos and stealing her iPhone, the court said Wednesday.

The unidentified defendant, who was in his 20s, was convicted of robbery in the original trial, according to a press release from the court.

The defendant met the victim online in January by posing as an agent looking to recruit women to work for a "business project," the court said. He met the girl in a hotel room and pitched what amounted to an escort job. He then asked her to sign a contract.

After the girl turned him down, the defendant refused to let her leave. He pressured her to pose naked and threatened to rape her, the court said. The girl submitted to his demands and took off her clothing. He took several pictures of her with the iPhone, which he kept.

The defendant let the girl leave only after she agreed to pay him for refusing to sign the contract. She called the police as soon as she got away.

It was unclear what the defendant's intentions were, said a press officer surnamed Gu from Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court. "The investigation found he wasn't connected with any criminal group," Gu told the Global Times.