A crossdressing boy who attempted to sell himself to a man as a bride was exposed when his new husband’s friend attempted to rape him on the couple’s wedding night.

The instigator of the affair was a 17-year-old boy living in China’s Henan province. He enjoyed crossdressing and makeup, but had unsympathetic parents who threw him out, and so he found himself living alone.

When his friend suggested a scheme for making money by exploiting his unappreciated talents, the cash-strapped youth leapt at the chance.

The pair’s plan was that they would swindle one of the area’s many brideless men by selling the boy to him as a bride and running off with the cash on the wedding night, before anyone managed to bed the bride and discover his real gender.

They enlisted the help of another man to assist as broker and together the trio found a buyer, a 57-year-old man, himself unmarried, who explained that he wanted to buy the girl for his friend, who was mentally handicapped and so unable to secure a bride himself.

The deal was soon brokered, with the “girl” being sold for 10,000 yuan ($1,500). Once the bride was delivered, the plan soon began to go awry however – once the bride was taken to the bedchamber, the bridegroom’s friend threw him out and tried to rape her himself.

The boy fled, but as he was being chased his true gender became apparent and once he had escaped the friend reported the fraud to police – who promptly arrested him for suspected rape. Police soon caught up with the other three however, and took them into custody as well.

The boy was convicted of fraud, receiving a 1 year sentence, whilst his two accomplices each received 2 year sentences.

Legal experts apparently expressed some doubts as to whether the rape charges pending against the man would stick due to his victim being male (there are no laws against raping men in China), but courts seem to have relented and allowed the prosecution because the perpetrator thought his victim was a woman.

As a result the man was convicted of rape, receiving a 3 year sentence, but this was suspended for 5 years – thus it seems he will not be serving any time for raping the other man’s “bride.”