WASHINGTON (AFP) - Prosecutors in Chicago say a college student accused of sexual assault was inspired by the newly-released movie version of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Mohammad Hossain, 19, was detained on US$500,000 (S$681,230) bail after he appeared in court on Monday, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.

Prosecutors said he told police that he and his alleged victim were re-enacting scenes from Fifty Shades of Grey in his dorm room last Saturday.

He allegedly told the woman to take off her clothes, then tied her up, covered her eyes with a knit hat, removed her underwear, stuffed a necktie in her mouth and began striking her with a belt.

The woman told him to stop, saying Hossain was hurting her, but he continued to strike her, according to Illinois assistant state prosecutor Sarah Karr.

When the woman managed to free her arms, Hossain allegedly held them behind her back and sexually assaulted her, the prosecutor added.

Hossain's lawyer Sandra Bennewitz said the accused has been active in several leadership programs at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

"How can someone involved in all that let a movie persuade him to do something like this?" asked Judge Adam Bourgeois.

"He would say that it was consensual," Bennewitz replied.

The film adaptation of EL James's 2011 erotic romance trilogy about the sado-masochistic relationship between a college grad and a business tycoon has been a box office hit since its Valentines Day release, earning a total of US$129 million in theatres.

Hossain's Facebook page names Columbus, Ohio as his hometown.