Zhang Hongqiang was convicted of violating a criminal law code after the 23-year-old created a website called “Adult Empire” and sold disks of content from it.
According to authorities, Hongqiang had sold more than 700 disks by the time he was arrested.
Based on the court ruling, Hongqiang is now sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison, has had his political rights revoked and is required to pay a fine of more than $2,000.
Chinese officials launched an Internet crackdown in July, claiming that online pornography “severely damaged social style, polluted the social environment, and harmed the physical and psychological health of the young people.”
This is the first case of a Chinese adult webmaster where the sentence involved more than five years in prison.
Four men were sentenced in mid-October for running an adult website, but were only sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail.