PhD student guilty of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China – as police fear more than 50 other victims

Police are appealing for more than 50 more victims to come forward after one of the country’s most prolific sex offenders was found guilty of drugging and raping 10 women.

Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou, 28, filmed nine of the attacks as “souvenirs”, and kept a trophy box of women’s belongings, Inner London Crown Court was told.

Warning: This article contains details of sexual offences

Jurors found him guilty of 11 counts of rape against 10 women, three in London and seven in China, between 2019 and 2023. Two of the victims have been identified and another eight have yet to be traced.

The Metropolitan Police believe Zou could be the “most substantial and prolific offender we’ve come across in recent times”, responsible for many more crimes.

Police believe more than 50 other women may have fallen prey to the engineering student, which would make him one of the worst sex offenders the UK has seen.

Officers have video material showing women who have not been identified and believe around 25 of those victims were raped in the UK and around 25 in China.

All of them are of Chinese heritage and an appeal is being launched for those women to come forward from that community.

The mechanical engineering student 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.

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

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Zou – who first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s University before moving to London in 2019 – showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read out in court.

Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, told jurors Zou “presents as a smart and charming young man” but is “also a persistent sexual predator; a voyeur and a rapist”.

Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, 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, the court heard.

The jury heard how he would secretly film his attacks using a mobile device and hidden cameras, and was shown evidence found on SD cards at his accommodation of him raping unconscious women in London and in China.

Senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Saira Pike thanked the “incredibly strong and brave” women who came forward to report his “heinous” crimes.

“Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women,” she said.

“In some instances, we have not been able to identify Zou’s victims. Without knowing who these women are, we have not been able to support them through a deeply distressing period of time.

“We have always been determined to seek justice for both the unidentified and identified victims in this case.”