Teenager auctions off her virginity to buy her mother a house

A 19-year-old woman has placed her virginity up for auction in an attempt to support her family, it has been reported.

Bids for Rosalie Pinho's virginity are starting at €300,000 (£264,000), the Brazilian teenager said. Rosalie claims her family faces "great financial difficulties" and have, on several occasions, struggled to afford food.

According to MailOnline, Rosalie said she hopes to raise enough money to move to a larger city, buy a house for her mother and to pay her university fees.

Rosalie, who declined to be fully photographed, said she also planned to establish her own business with the money raised.

Rosalie said she hoped the new venture will allow her to "live without many financial worries".

"I've never dated anyone and the maximum contact I've had with other guys is limited to a few kisses," she said.

Rosalie continued: "At first the idea of sleeping with a complete stranger scared me, but I got used to the idea and I'd rather lose my virginity in this way than with someone who will break my heart."

MailOnline noted that while it is not illegal in Brazil to sell sex, it is illegal to employ sex workers and to operate brothels. Rosalie opted to create her own website and launch an online auction after seeing other teens do the same.

She told reporters that she has already received offers of €500,000 (£440,000). "The auction has been online for three weeks and will come to an end in the first week of May," she said. "I would like the value to reach €850,000 (£747,610), it will be the best thing that has ever happened in my life!"

The teenager has a strict set of rules for the lucky winner of the auction. The "buyer" must not have any diseases, must use a condom and must fly out to Brazil to meet Rosalie. The winner will have 12 hours with Rosalie and will not be allowed any kind of violence or to bring another person to their meeting.

"I do not care about age, ethnicity, appearance, religion, musical taste or anything else," she said. "And I hope, of course, that he is kind to me at our meeting."

Rosalie told MailOnline that her friends and family are unaware of her plans. "It's totally a secret. I worry a lot more how my decision would reflect on my family than with what people will think about me."

She continued: "It would not affect me much, people's opinions will not help solve my problems [but] the auction is going to. We live in the age of sexual freedom, it's my body, it's my rules."