University of Manchester has launched an inquiry after it emerged that one of its PhD students has written a research paper about sexual attraction to young boys.

Karl Andersson spent three months recording his thoughts and feelings while masturbating over images of young boys in Japanese comic books.

In the abstract for the paper, Andersson, who is interviewing fans of shota comics for his PhD, said he wanted to “understand how [they] experience sexual pleasure when reading shota”- that feature teenage and prepubescent boys in “suggestive or erotic” situations.  

In his 4000-word study, which details his sexual habits and sexual encounters between boys in the comics which was published in the journal Qualitative Research in April.

The publication provoked outrage from after it was circulated on Twitter this week with a member of parliament, Neil O’Brien responding with a tweet: “Why should hard-working taxpayers in my constituency have to pay for an academic to write about his experiences masturbating to Japanese porn?”

Andersson wrote in his abstract for the project, that he desired to “understand how [individuals] experience sexual pleasure when reading shota.” So he set about masturbating while reading the comic books for three months, recording detailed notes of how he felt after each session.   

“I happened to live alone during this experiment, and I had newly become single after a long relationship – these factors probably contributed to my willingness and eagerness to explore this method,” he wrote.

The university investigating panel said in a statement: “We are continuing with our investigations and will consider closely all guidance from the Committee of Publication Ethics and ensure that any actions taken comply with COPE standards.”