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A Chinese PhD student believed to be one of the UK’s worst sex offenders has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years for drugging and raping unconscious women.
Zhenhao Zou, 28, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China.
He filmed the attacks as souvenirs and kept a trophy box of women’s belongings, including clothing, jewellery and a lipstick.
His crimes began to be uncovered in November 2023, when a woman went to police to allege that she had been attacked by Zou.
There was not enough evidence to bring a criminal charge over her claim, but when Zou’s phone was seized officers found disturbing videos of him raping unconscious women, and pipettes and sedating drugs in his flat.
Zou, who was most recently living in Elephant and Castle, south-east London, was found guilty of raping three women in London and another seven in China between September 2019 and May 2023.
After the month-long trial, detectives said they fear he could have targeted more than 50 more potential victims.
More than 20 women contacted the force following publicity in the media around Zou’s trial to say they think they may have been attacked by him.
Commander Kevin Southworth said: ‘Given how prolific Zou seems to have been, there is every potential he could be one of the most prolific offenders that we’ve ever seen in this space.’
Prosecutors said Zou appears to be ‘a smart and charming young man’ but is in fact ‘a persistent sexual predator, a voyeur and a rapist’.
He comes from a wealthy family, and had enough money to afford a Rolex, a wardrobe full of designer clothes, and cosmetic procedures including a hair transplant and facial surgery, while paying thousands a month in rent living in London as an international engineering student.
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
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Police found hundreds of hours of disturbing videos and photos that he kept, around half of which are thought to have been filmed in the UK and half in China.
One of the three victims who has been identified by police told the jury she was raped after Zou pushed her to drink excessive amounts of alcohol and would not let her leave his flat in Elephant and Castle in May 2023.
She wrote in her statement: ‘I cannot determine how long this incident will affect me, but I know that the impact has deeply affected my personality, and it will likely persist long-term. I no longer believe in the inherent goodness of people, because I have never encountered such severe criminal behaviour before.
‘I am constantly confused about why some people are capable of doing such terrible things. When I recall that night, I think I should have done more, perhaps I should have screamed and called the police, instead of just screaming, which didn’t change much.
‘Maybe I should have destroyed his belongings, but I didn’t do any of that. This sense of guilt has continued to haunt me.’
She added: ‘I have lost faith in human beings, I have no trust in others. Before this incident, I was not aware that a human could do such evil things. When I meet with strangers, I get flashbacks of what he did.’
The second, who is now living in China, said she was also raped by Zou, in his student flat near Russell Square in October 2021, when she was unconscious.
She said in her statement: ‘I experienced for the first time a loss of consciousness. I opened my eyes for a few seconds during the sexual assault in his room, he was thrusting violently against my body.
‘I was completely powerless and could only use all my strength to tell him I was menstruating and demand he stop his actions.
‘Although I lost consciousness just moments later, his face in that moment will clearly stay in my mind forever. As a result, I now experience severe physical and psychological distress.’
The woman also told of feeling ‘waves of nausea and disgust’ after she was attacked.
She added: ‘I know words will never fully convey the depth of this wound. But one thing is certain, what happened that night is etched into my soul forever. His face, his expression – they will never leave me. I will never forgive him.’
Outside court this afternoon, Detective Inspector Richard Mackenzie, commended the courage of the women during the trial.
He said he hopes Zou’s sentence will provide a small amount of comfort for his victims.
MacKenzie added it was one of the most ‘complex, challenging and heartrending’ investigations the Met have ever carried out.
‘It is one that will stay with us forever,’ he said.
The case has chilling parallels with Reynhard Sinaga, 41, who was jailed for life in January 2020 at Manchester Crown Court after being found guilty of 159 counts of sexual offences against 48 different men.
He also befriended his victims and invited them back to his flat, before drugging and sexually assaulting them.
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
Read more:
There was also the case of serial killer Stephen Port, who received a whole life term after raping and murdering four men with overdoses of the sedative drug GHB, and drugging and sexually assaulting seven others who survived.
UK detectives have said the Chinese authorities were ‘responsive and helpful’ over the investigation into Zou, although no properties where he lived in China have been searched even though many of his crimes took place on Chinese soil.
After Zou’s trial they began discussions with China about whether social media appeals to potential victims could be made on WeChat and Little Red Book, which are more commonly used in the country.
Zou was convicted of rapes that he committed in China in a UK court because foreign nationals living in Britain can be convicted of crimes committed abroad if the act is an offence in both countries.
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