PhD Student At Top London University Guilty Of Drugging And Raping 10 Women

Zhenhao Zou, a 28-year-old Chinese PhD student, has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in the UK and China over four years. According to a BBC report, he videotaped the sexual assaults of nine victims, keeping the recordings as personal trophies. Only two of the victims have been identified. 

Described in court as a calculating predator, Zou carried out the attacks between September 2019 and May 2023 while pursuing his PhD at University College London (UCL). Using the pseudonym "Pakho" online, he befriended fellow Chinese students on social media platforms and dating apps. He would then invite them for drinks, drug them, and assault them at his residences in London and China. Seven of the rapes took place during the pandemic in China. 

One of Zhenhao Zou's victims, who was attacked at his Elephant and Castle residence on May 18, 2023, testified in court that Zou forcibly detained her at his home. After consuming a significant amount of alcohol, he refused to let her leave, dragged her into his bedroom, and raped her.

The woman had attempted to exit the flat after feeling uneasy, but Zou denied her request to leave. She found herself on the floor, crying and trying to escape. Zou then dragged her back into the flat and forced her to drink a large glass of vodka.

In another incident, a woman pleaded with him to stop his assault before she lost consciousness. Video evidence revealed her begging him, "I really don't want… I beg you, don't do this."

In addition to the rape convictions, Zou was also found guilty of multiple other charges, including voyeurism, possession of extreme pornographic images, false imprisonment, and possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence. During the trial, Zou admitted to consuming extreme pornography, stating that he was particularly aroused by videos depicting sex with unconscious women and rape roleplay.

He also bragged of having "five new sexual partners every month".

Prosecutor Catherine Farrelly KC described Zhenhao Zou to the jury as appearing to be "a smart and charming young man" but ultimately revealing himself to be "a persistent sexual predator, a voyeur, and a rapist".

"He was a wolf in sheep's clothing and every woman's nightmare. He was a man who was sexually excited by having sex with a sleeping woman … and sexually excited by the idea of rape. He is a serial rapist, he is a predator. He would use drink or drugs to incapacitate women," she said.

According to Metropolitan Police Commander Kevin Southworth, video evidence suggests there may be up to 50 additional victims who have not yet come forward. Authorities are urgently seeking to contact these potential victims.

"Such is the insidious nature of these offences, I think there is a possibility that many more victim-survivors may not even know that he has raped them," Mr Southworth said. "This man may well turn out to be one of the most prolific sexual predators that we've ever seen in this country," he added.

He first came to Britain to study in 2017 at Queen's University Belfast. Two years later he started studying at UCL.