PhD student Zhenhao Zou convicted of drugging, raping 10 women in London

Zhenhao Zou began his attacks on women after moving to London.

• Zhenhao Zou was convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London, with police fearing there may be more than 60 victims.
• Zou used drugs like MDMA and Xanax to render women unconscious, filming the assaults as “souvenirs”.
• The Metropolitan Police urge potential victims, particularly from the Chinese student community, to come forward for support and investigation.

A Chinese student studying for a PhD in London may have drugged and raped more than 60 women during a five-year reign of terror, police have revealed.

Zhenhao Zou, who was a student at University College London, has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women following a four-week trial at Inner London Crown Court.

However, detectives fear those offences may be the tip of the iceberg and that the 27-year-old could be one of the most prolific rapists in Britain.

Police fear that some of Zou’s victims may not be aware they have been raped.

Zou, the son of a wealthy Chinese businessman, came to Britain in September 2017 to study for an undergraduate degree at Queen’s University Belfast. Two years later, he moved to University College London, where he embarked on an MSc and later a PhD programme.

There is no evidence to suggest he attacked women during his time in Northern Ireland but after moving to London, he began a campaign of predatory sexual abuse.

Using dating apps and popular Chinese social media platforms including WeChat and Little Red Book, Zou invited young women out for a drink or back to his flat to study with him.

Most of his victims are believed to be from the Chinese community, with many being fellow students.

Zou used drugs such as MDMA, butanediol, ketamine and Xanax to knock the women unconscious before raping them, often filming the attacks to keep as “souvenirs”.

Police found drugs including Xanax, MDMA and ketamine during a search of Zou's property.

Only two of his victims have been identified, but detectives have established from the video clips that there are at least 50 unknown women whom Zou attacked.

About half of the attacks are believed to have taken place in one of Zou’s high-end flats in London, while the rest are thought to have occurred in China during visits home.

Following his conviction, the Metropolitan Police have begun an appeal in both Britain and China urging women who believe they may have been targeted by him to come forward.

Despite Zou being a foreigner and some of the offences taking place overseas, he was charged in the UK owing to a change in the sexual offences legislation.

Police fear that some of Zou’s victims may not be aware they have been raped because he attacked them when they were unconscious.

They are asking women who knew him socially from 2019 onwards to come forward. Scotland Yard has also set up a portal and a helpline manned by Mandarin speakers.

Zou’s electronic devices, including a mobile phone and two cameras, were seized and examined.

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Mackenzie, the senior investigating officer in the case, said it had been one of the most complex investigations ever conducted by Scotland Yard.

Officers had to examine more than nine million WeChat messages in Mandarin and watch more than 1600 hours of video footage.

After the verdicts, he said: “We’re now asking that anyone who thinks they may have been affected to come forward and speak to the police.

“Our message to potential victims is to please come forward to speak with us and we will robustly investigate.”

Mackenzie said all those who came forward would be offered professional support and would have a dedicated officer assigned to them.

He went on: “We are keeping an open mind currently about the identities of the victims. However, we are particularly keen to hear from women from the Chinese student community who may have met Zou in and around London between 2019 and 2024.

“We would also like to hear from potential victims who may have met him while he was living in China.

“They may have met him on online platforms, including student forums on Chinese social media apps such as WeChat or Little Red Book or they may have spoken to him on dating apps, such as Bumble.”

Detective Chief Inspector Mackenzie said Zou was known to keep personal items from his victims as “trophies”, such as pieces of jewellery or clothing, so he was keen to hear from women who had met Zou and were missing personal possessions.

Alleged keepsakes held by Zou.

He went on: “Due to the nature of his offending, we believe some of the women may not even be aware that they are victims. We do not underestimate how distressing and difficult it may be for them to read or hear about his crimes following his verdicts.

“We want to reassure those women that all reports will be fully investigated and dealt with with the utmost sensitivity and care and compassion.

“However, we also understand that not every victim may wish to speak to the police, so we have taken advice from the independent charity of rape crisis and they will be on hand to offer support to women who seek support via their 24/7 helpline.”

Zou grew up in the industrial city of Dongguan, where his father worked in a state-owned company and his mother was a teacher.

While little is known of his early life, he had access to considerable wealth, paying several thousand pounds a month in rent while in London for a luxury apartment in a new development in Elephant and Castle, south London.

When police raided the property, they found a large quantity of designer clothes, luxury goods and expensive watches.

During his time in London, Zou underwent cosmetic procedures, including having a hair transplant and work on his eyelids and chin.

Detectives described him as being extremely social, with a wide circle of friends and associates among the Chinese and student communities.

However, in May 2023 he was arrested after a woman came forward claiming to have been raped by a man who had given her a large quantity of alcohol at his student flat in Woburn Place.

Zou’s electronic devices, including a mobile phone and two cameras, were seized and examined. Police discovered a cache of recordings which appeared to show a man having sex with a string of unidentified unconscious women, dating back to September 2019.

They also recovered drugs including MDMA or ecstasy, butanediol, ketamine and Xanax.

While only two of Zou’s victims were identified, prosecutors were able to show that eight of the unknown women in the videos were unconscious when he had sex with them and therefore could not have consented.

Zou was convicted of 11 counts of rape against the 10 victims.

He was also found guilty of three counts of voyeurism, 10 charges 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.

He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence, and four counts of possession of ketamine with intent to commit a sexual offence.

He is due to be sentenced on June 19.

Detectives were able to ascertain if the attacks had taken place in the UK or China by looking at items in the background, including British plug sockets.

Despite having been in the UK for seven years and speaking perfect English, Zou chose to give his police interviews and evidence in court in Mandarin via a translator.

He claimed to have an interest in “time stop” pornography, in which the females are passive and unresponsive.

He insisted the women in all the films had consented to sex and he denied rape.

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.”