An official of a village in northwest China has been detained on suspicion of being involved in a prostitution racket that lured schoolgirls into having sex with influential lawmakers.

The Wuqi People’s Congress Standing Committee identified Qi Jingtao, head of the villagers’ committee in Loufangzhang, Shaanxi Province, as the person held by police, but did not elaborate on the case.

According to a report by the Legal Weekly, several local businessmen have sought to curry favor with government officials by providing them with virgins to sleep with. Many of the girls were recruited from Wuqi County High School with the help of their fellow pupils, it said.