Police believe he may have more than 50 further victims, which would make him one of the worst sex offenders in the UK
A Chinese PhD student has been found guilty of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China.
Zhenhao Zou, 28, filmed several of the attacks as ‘souvenirs’ and kept a trophy box of his victims’ belongings, a court heard. He was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offences relating to one victim.
Only two of Zou’s victims have been identified, while eight are yet to be traced and police believe he may have more than 50 further potential victims yet to come forward – which would make him one of the UK’s worst sex offenders.
Judge Rosina Cottage branded Zou a “dangerous and predatory sexual offender” as he was convicted of the offences at Inner London Crown Court on Wednesday. She warned him he faces a “very long” jail term when he is sentenced on June 19.
Police officers investigating Zou found hundreds of hours of disturbing videos and photos, around half of which are thought to have been filmed in the UK and half in China. Jurors watched footage of nine of the rapes during court proceedings, appearing visibly upset and being given regular breaks as the troubling material was shown.
Among the disturbing videos shown in court was footage of an attack on a woman identified only as female A, that is believed to have taken place at Zou’s student flat in London. In it the woman is heard telling Zou to stop while struggling to stay awake. At one point he tells her “the sound insulation here is very good”.
After the month-long trial, the engineering student was found guilty of raping three women in London and another seven in China between September 2019 and May 2023. He was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol.
Zou, who was most recently living in Elephant and Castle in south-east London, was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, and five counts of possession of controlled drugs to commit a sexual offence, namely one count involving MDMA, three involving ketamine, and one of alprazolam.
Prosecutors told the court that while Zou appeared to be “a smart and charming young man” he was actually “a persistent sexual predator, a voyeur and a rapist”.
Senior Crown prosecutor Saira Pike said Zou, who comes from a wealthy family and had enough money to afford a Rolex, designer clothes and cosmetic procedures including a hair transplant and facial surgery, is a danger to women, and praised the two victims who gave evidence for their courage in coming forward.
Zou first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s University before heading to London in 2019 to do a master’s degree and then a PhD at UCL.
Using the name Pakho online, he befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks. He would then drug them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China.
In November 2023, Zou’s crimes began to be unravelled when a woman went to police to allege that she had been attacked by the student. Zou’s phone was seized and officers found disturbing videos of him raping unconscious women, as well as pipettes and sedating drugs in his flat.
Investigators first charged Zou in January 2024 and the full raft of 35 charges was laid against him in August last year.
Police have waited until his conviction to make a public appeal for further victims to come forward. However, another potential victim contacted police following the publicity around Zou’s criminal trial.
One of the two 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.
The second, who is now living in China, said she was also raped by Zou, in his Woburn Place flat in October 2021, when she was unconscious.
Jurors rejected Zou’s claims that the sexual interactions were consensual, that drugs and alcohol were consumed by the women voluntarily, and that some of the footage captured involved role playing.
He told jurors that he was in the habit of taking photos and videos of sexual activity, and liked pornography where it appears that a woman is asleep or unconscious.
Zou was also convicted of rapes believed to have taken place in his native China, because foreign nationals who are living in the UK can be charged with offences committed abroad if the crime is also illegal in the country where it took place.
The case has chilling parallels with Reynhard Sinaga, 41, who 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.
Commander Kevin Southworth, lead for public protection at the Metropolitan Police, said: “Zhenhao Zou is a dangerous and prolific sexual predator, who manipulated and drugged women in order to prey on them in the most cowardly way.
“I’d like to acknowledge the two women who bravely gave evidence against Zou in court, their courage and resilience has been unwavering.
“We are determined to support all victim-survivors and are now asking women who believe they may have concerns about Zou to please come forward.
“I want to reassure anyone impacted that you are not alone and can seek specialist support and guidance, not only from the police, but also from independent charities and services.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the investigation team, who have shown professionalism, compassion and determination in their pursuit for justice.”
