Models forced to take part in porn pic shoots
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Shanghai Daily, October 31, 2011
Three people have been charged after more than 10 models were allegedly forced to participate in pornographic photo shoots, Changning District prosecutors said yesterday.
This follows an incident in which nude photographs of a female guest in a popular TV dating show appeared on the Internet in May 2010.
The guest, a former model, said she had only posed for the pictures in a Shanghai hotel in 2009 after being threatened, and had reported the incident to city police.
Officers claim the shoot was organized by a group who brought models and photographers together for what they called art photography.
One suspect, surnamed Shen, told prosecutors she organized up to five performances a week from March 2009 to May 2010.
Shen was allegedly responsible for hiring models, while the other suspects, surnamed Li and Dong, were in charge of contacting photographers via forums.
Most sessions took place in hotels, where models were forced to strip and pose for obscene photographs, claim prosecutors.
Fees collected from photographers depended on the type of shoot. If up to 10 were present, each paid several hundred yuan.
For one-on-one sessions, the cost was higher, Shen told prosecutors.
Models received 500 yuan (US$79) for each session, according to one model, identified as Susu.
She said most were young women of around 20, who dreamed of becoming famous in the entertainment world.
It is claimed that models were threatened.
According to prosecutors, an agent threatened a student from a local music academy, named as Leilei, when she refused to continue a shoot and said she wanted to quit the industry.
Prosecutors said an underground pornography industry exists in big cities.
Organizers, mainly model agents and photographers, can earn at least 1,000 yuan from each shoot - a monthly income of 40,000 yuan.
They can also sell their photographs to overseas pornography websites and magazines, said prosecutors.
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