A Chinese PhD student who drugged and filmed himself assaulting women across the UK and China has been jailed for life with a minimum of 24 years. His appalling crimes and disregard for his victims highlight the extreme danger he posed.
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Serial Rapist Zhenhao Zou Jailed for Minimum of 24 Years
A serial rapist, Zhenhao Zou, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years for drugging and raping 10 women in both the UK and China. Zou, a 28-year-old PhD student, drugged and filmed himself raping women between 2019 and 2024 after luring them to his flat under the pretense of offering study sessions or socializing over drinks. Police fear that more than 50 women could be victims of Zou’s heinous crimes.
Since his conviction, over 20 women have come forward to police, with fears that there may be dozens more victims who remain unidentified. Zou, who appeared impassive throughout his sentencing, was described by Judge Cottage KC as a “highly manipulative and intelligent young man” who showed no regard for the wishes and feelings of his victims. She remarked that he treated them “simply as pieces in an elaborate game for one: you.”
At Inner London Crown Court, Judge Cottage confirmed that Zou would spend at least 24 years in a UK prison before being eligible for parole, as she described him as a “significant risk” who had an “abiding sexual interest in asserting power and control over women.”
Following the trial in March, which resulted in his conviction on 28 charges, including 11 rapes, multiple women have continued to come forward. Zou had filmed many of his crimes, some of which showed his victims pleading for him to stop as they lost consciousness.
Victims’ testimonies were read out in court, with one describing the psychological and physical pain they endured. One victim recalled how she had been filled with “romantic anticipation” before being violently assaulted by Zou, describing the incident as something that would “never leave me.”
Another victim with bipolar disorder explained the severe deterioration of her mental health, describing the aftermath of the assault as feeling “overwhelming” and stating that the assault “destroyed my life.”
Detectives have urged any additional women in the UK or China who suspect they were victims of Zou to come forward. Commander Kevin Southworth of the Metropolitan Police assured women that they would be treated with “empathy, kindness and respect” if they chose to report.
The trial revealed that Zou, who was originally from Guangdong province, China, had used social media and dating platforms to target victims, often appealing to young Chinese women living in the UK. Police found over 1,600 hours of footage, including 58 videos of rapes filmed on hidden cameras.
Many of the women could be heard pleading for him to stop before losing consciousness. One woman could be heard calling out for her mother as Zou ignored her pleas and continued with the assault. Zou also admitted in court that he was attracted to pornography depicting unconscious women being raped.
Zou, who moved to the UK in 2017 to study, had been living in Elephant and Castle, London, and had been studying for his PhD in mechanical engineering at the time of his arrest in January 2024. He had been traveling between the UK and China while carrying out his crimes, which spanned two countries.
The scale and brutality of his crimes have marked him as one of the most prolific sexual offenders in British history, with police and investigators now bracing for the possibility of discovering even more victims.