A married man who paid women so he could torture them and made payments according to how pretty they were has had a two-year jail term overturned on the grounds that it was excessive for what was essentially a consensual act.
The court heard that the married father of two, whose wife did not object to his bizarre hobby and had even taken part in one session, had advertised for women who were prepared to let him cane the soles of their feet.
He said he was hoping to build a collection of similar videos and would pay women depending on how attractive he thought they were, with the prettier women paid twice as much as the ugly ones.
He had paid TRY 500 (GBP 21) to women he considered “beautiful” and just TRY 250 (GBP 10) to those he considered “ugly”.
A court in Kayseri, Turkey, had sentenced deliveryman Erkan T. to two years and one month in prison after finding him guilty of obscenity.
But now the 7th Penal Chamber of the Kayseri Regional Court of Justice has ruled that it was excessive, given that the man had not forced women into bizarre acts, and also had not published them online, and instead kept them on his mobile phone for his own personal pleasure.
During the filming sessions, the court heard how he would cover their eyes with a sleep mask, handcuff them, and tie their feet together with a scarf.
Then, he would beat the soles of their feet and film himself as he did it.
The 35-year-old man was arrested after one of the women who made the offer took offence, and complained to prosecutors.
He was arrested, and the images were found on his phone.
All the women who agreed to his proposal were reportedly in financial difficulties.
Prosecutors had demanded one to four years’ imprisonment for the crime of obscenity.
However, the case will now have to go back for a retrial where it is expected that even if sentenced, he will no longer do jail time.
Speaking in his defence, he argued that the punishment was unfair, saying: “I did not share this video anywhere because I learned that this type of video is prohibited. I do not know how the videos I took were later spread.
“These videos may have been leaked by the police. I did not share them anywhere. I did not care whether the women in the videos were naked or dressed. This did not concern me.”
Incredibly, it turned out his wife had even agreed to be caned but decided she did not like it and had then stopped it.
His wife told police at the time: “He did not force any action on me. He showed me a video and offered to make a video in this way.
“At first, I did not accept this offer. But later, I accepted this offer with my own consent. We did it once for the purpose of change. Our goal was to do a fantasy. He tied me up and put me on a bench.
“I just acted as if I was in pain. I definitely did not feel any pain. If I had felt pain, I would have said it. I cannot speak comfortably now because there are press members in the courtroom.
“But there were also sexual desires that I didn’t want to mention. My husband did not make a similar application with any other woman in my presence. He did not mention publishing it and earning money.”
