A PhD student feared to be one of the worst sexual offenders in British history has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years for drugging and raping 10 women.
Zhenhao Zou, 28, drugged and filmed himself raping at least 60 victims between 2019 and 2024 after luring them into his flat with invitations to study or have drinks. Since his conviction more than 20 women have come forward to police, and still more remain unidentified.
The Chinese national, who in court admitted to watching extreme pornography depicting unconscious women being raped, wasconvicted in Marchof raping three women in London and seven in China.
He was convicted of 28 offences in total, including multiple counts of voyeurism as well as possessing extreme pornography and drugs to commit sexual offences.
After his arrest at his flat in the Elephant and Castle area of London in January 2024, police discovered 58 videos of rapes filmed by Zou. The footage, filmed on secret cameras, showed him raping women he had plied with drug-laced drinks.
Many of the women, who were of Chinese heritage, could be heard pleading for him to stop before they lost consciousness. One woman in one of the hundreds of videos examined by police could be heard stating: “I really don’t want … I beg you, don’t do this.” Zou replied: “Don’t push me, it’s pointless … The sound insulation here is very good.”
Zou’s arrest came after a woman went to the Met on 18 November 2023, prompting detectives to revisit another woman who had made a complaint earlier the same year but then dropped her allegation.
Zou was not arrested initially and two days later flew to China. He was arrested on his return to the UK in January 2024. When officers went to arrest him, they found designer clothing, some of which still had tags on, designer bags and a Rolex watch, and a box believed to contain “souvenirs” of his victims.
During the trial, wearing glasses and a suit, Zou appeared mild-mannered. But he bragged about having multiple new sexual partners every week and spoke of liking pornography in which “the females are passive and unresponsive during sex”. Asked why, Zou replied: “I like it because the girl appears to be still and quiet when they are having sex.”
His barrister, Mark Cotter KC, asked: “What about being asleep?” Zou, testifying in his own defence, replied: “Yes, that’s my favourite type. But I could not find that.”
He was convicted of 28 counts including 11 rapes against 10 women and one count of false imprisonment.
After the sentencing at Inner London crown court, the Metropolitan police said 24 women had come forward since they first made an appeal to victims in March and they were keeping an open mind about the identities of other victims in the recordings.
Detectives stressed that the investigation was continuing. Commander Kevin Southworth, of the Met, assured any women who feared they may have been one of Zou’s victims that they would be treated with “empathy, kindness and respect” if they came forward to police.
“Thanks to the remarkable efforts of our officers and prosecutors, a dangerous and cowardly offender will now spend the next 24 years behind bars,” he said. “I hope the fact Zou can no longer harm others serves as a small amount of comfort to the women who have suffered immeasurably.”
During the trial, the jury heard that Zou, who was studying at University College London for a PhD in mechanical engineering, used social media platforms and dating websites to target his victims. He was described as aseemingly “charming”man, and one victim said he appeared to be a gentleman.
Zou grew up in Guangdong province, came to Britain to study at Queen’s University in Belfast in 2017, and started studying for a master’s at UCL in 2019.
Police said they had not received any reports from women who met Zou while he was living in Belfast but encouraged any woman who had concerns to speak to officers.