China Jails Professor for Sex Parties

A Chinese college professor’s extracurricular activities have landed him behind bars. Ma Yaohai, a computer professor in Nanjing, has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for hosting sex parties and orgies in private homes and hotel rooms. Though 21 others were arrested alongside Ma last year, the professor’s sentence is harshest because he refused to plead guilty, arguing that the activities were private and involved consenting adults. Ma’s lawyer plans to appeal the decision, saying, “It’s definitely not a fair case.” The case—and Ma’s open defiance—has prompted intense debate in China over the conflict between traditional sexual taboos and a culture increasingly accepting to sexual freedom.