An Italian university professor has been arrested after he allegedly demanded sex from one of his female students in exchange for awarding her top marks for her work.

The associate professor, named by the Italian press as Luca Sgarbi, from Turin University, was placed under house arrest after the student claimed that he badgered her for sex on the promise of a favourable assessment of her essays.

The 47-year-old also allegedly demanded that she send “intimate photos” of herself via mobile phone.

Police are investigating the allegations and trying to determine whether he made demands of other female students similar to those being alleged.

The academic is an associate professor in the department of jurisprudence at Turin University, where he specializes in labour relations.

Prosecutors said they hoped that “other similar cases, which at the moment remain unknown, will be divulged.”

The academic is under house arrest at his home in Bologna, in the region of Emilia-Romagna.

It is by no means the first time that an Italian academic has been accused of trading sex for good grades.

In 2004, a 68-year-old professor at the University of Camerino in the Marche region of central Italy was accused of having sex with female students in return for favourable marks.