A London PhD student exposed as serial rapist who drugged his victims and filmed the sickening attacks as trophies has been jailed for life.
Zhenhao Zou, 28, preyed on women on dating apps and social media chat groups, luring them to his luxury home with the offer of extra study sessions before lacing their drinks with drugs.
When two of his victims came forward to speak about their ordeals, Metropolitan Police officers arrested Zou, a Chinese national studying in the UK, and uncovered a horrifying collection of videos showing him having sex with women who were either unconscious or semi-conscious and pleading for him to stop.
Zou – who was studying for a PhD at University College London (UCL) at the time of his arrest – had also amassed a grim collection of physical trophies taken from his victims, including clothing, jewellery, and a lipstick.
On Thursday, Judge Rosina Cottage KC passed 11 life sentences on Zou - one for each rape - and ordered that he serve at least 24 years behind bars before being given a chance of freedom.
She said used women as “sex toys” that he controlled for his gratification, enjoyed watching ‘rape porn’ videos online, and “gaslighted” victims who tried to challenge him.
“It’s clear you are a highly manipulative and intelligent young man who gave no thought to the wishes or feelings of the women - they were pieces in an elaborate game for one. You”, she said.
“You appeared to the world to be well-to-do, ambitious, and charming, but in fact that charming mask hid the fact you are also a sexual predator.
“Over a period of four years, you met women socially and organised to meet them in person. You would groom them with cheerful conversation on social media, and perhaps one or two meetings that wouldn’t involve sex.
“Then you planned to stupefy them with drugs and alcohol. Once unable to physically resist, you would rape them. Not only did you rape them but filmed yourself doing so.
“This heightened your sexual pleasure and gave you a trophy to remember each woman under your control.
“Sometimes they tried to resist, and you would tell them resistance was futile.”
She added: “You sought power over them, and wielded it without any thought to their wishes and feelings. Those women, you treated callously as sex toys for your pleasure.”
Three of Zou’s victims told Inner London crown court they have been left “haunted” by the attacks and living in “dread” that the videos he made will become public.
“It is etched in my soul forever, his face, his expression - they will never leave me”, said one. “I will never forgive him.”
She described her “terror” in the immediate aftermath of the rape, waking up naked next to Zou with little memory of how she got there.
“That night, it was as if the world had vanished from my life”, she said. “My memories of that night were fragmented. I only recall wandering like a trapped animal, desperately searching for an exit.”
The second woman said she fears Zou will offend again if ever set free from prison.
“To this day he insists it was consensual sex, which is crazy to me”, she said. “I know that it is a possibility that one day he may be released from prison. If this is to happen, I would not feel safe.”
She added: “I could not escape the haunting thoughts, and when I closed my eyes, I could not stop recalling what had happened.”
She posted online about the attack, believing that Zou was a repeat offender, which ultimately led to him being brought to justice.
A third statement was read from one of Zou’s victims who identified herself to police after seeing news reports of the criminal trial.
She said she had tried to “bury” memory of the crime, and news reports revealed to her for the first time that he had filmed the attacks.
She described her diagnosis of bipolar disorder, struggles with insomnia and anxiety, and bouts of self harm.
She said she suffered “endless self-loathing” as she struggled to open up to therapists, fearing that she was be judged for going out drinking alone with a man.
Mark Cotter KC, Zou’s barrister, conceded that there is no mitigation he could rely on about the offences themselves, but suggested Zou may one day be able to be safely released.
Zou, who was convicted by a jury of 11 counts of rape against ten women as well as multiple counts of drugging victims and voyeurism, was assessed ahead of the sentencing hearing as posing an “imminent” and ongoing risk to women.
A probation officer found he has little insight into his offending, a “preoccupation with sex”, as well as no understanding of the principle of consent.
“He made reference to never having sex again”, said the report author.
“He accepts any form of punishment, including chemical castration, but it seems that came from a belief he would get a lighter sentence.
“He is concerned with the effect on him, rather than the harm caused to his victims.”
Zou went on trial when just two of the ten victims in the charges had been identified by the Metropolitan Police. He was convicted of raping eight more women, then unknown, thanks to the videos he himself had filmed.
Police say they have 50 more videos apparently showing Zou raping and sexually abusing unconscious women, and detectives have appealed for help finding possible victims.
Scotland Yard says 24 women had now come forward in the wake of publicity around the trial and conviction. Six have given formal interviews so far, and Zou may face further charges in the future, the court heard.
“He could be one of the most dangerous, prolific sex offenders we have seen in British history“, said Commander Kevin Southworth, who is overseeing the police investigation.
“The deceitful, calculating, predatory nature of what Zou has done is fairly unprecedented.”
Zou, who comes from a wealthy Chinese family in the Guangdong Province, moved to the UK in 2017 to study Queen’s University in Belfast, he signed up for a Masters in mechanical engineering at UCL in 2019, and by the time of his arrest he had entered PhD studies.
Zou’s victims were attacked in London and China between 2019 and 2023. He was living in student accommodation in Bloomsbury and at a £4,000-a-month rented apartment in Elephant and Castle, and made regular trips back to his native country.
When he was arrested, police found an array of drugs - MDMA, chemsex favourite GHB, Ketamine, and Xanax – at his luxury London apartment.
It is believed he used some of the drugs to knock out his victims, and he had spy-cameras set up in his bedroom.
One of the women came forward to police after she spent an evening drinking with Zou in Chinatown, central London, and later that evening woke up to find him having sex with her.
She told the trial she felt “angry“ and “ashamed“ in the aftermath of the attack, but was also confused about whether she had been the victim of a crime.
“I didn’t even know how should I start talking about this“, she said.
The woman confronted Zou by text, and told the court: “He said to me on the phone that he thought I was conscious at the time - I didn’t agree.”
She went to police after seeing a social media post from another Chinese woman, describing Zou having sex with her while she was drunk.
In her victim impact statement, she revealed that Zou had hid his wealth when they first started dating, and asked her to pay for dinners and gift him expensive skin cream.
Describing the attack, she said: “I was completely powerless, I could only use all my strength to tell him I was menstruating and demand he stop his actions.
“His face in that moment will clearly stay in my mind forever.”
She said she was left feeling “terror, confusion, anger and shame”, as well as “dread” that a video of the incident would be shared.
“I remember him wiping my body with something cold and wet”, she added. “it made me feel inhuman, like a thing to be used and discarded.”
The other woman said she was raped after being plied with vodka by Zou at his south London flat, and afterwards she branded Zou “disgusting” and told him: “You should feel guilty for what you did.”
Video footage showed Zou insisting the woman finish a large glass of vodka he had made for her, and she was then raped while unconscious.
She said she went online to post about the incident to raise awareness, and while some replies were supportive she eventually deleted the post after receiving abuse and criticism.
Detectives who arrested Zou found evidence of the luxury life he was living in London, with a wardrobe stuffed with designer clothes, bags, and jewellery and a 39th floor apartment with spectacular views of London.
He told the court his father worked for a state-owned enterprise in China, but the true extent of his family’s wealth and political connections remains a mystery.
During the trial, Zou also revealed he has undergone a series of cosmetic surgery operations, including a hair transplant, chin implants, and an operation on his eyelids. He also admitted wearing make-up for no other reason than to “look better”.
Zou claimed in his defence that he had been introduced to illegal drugs at parties and London nightclubs, and said he imported substances directly from China to the UK.
He was also questioned on his disturbing interest in ‘time-stop’ pornography, which depicts sex with women who appear to have been frozen in time.
“I like for the girls to be still and quiet when they are having sex“, he said, and asked about videos of women having sex while asleep, he replied: “That’s my favourite type.”
Zou, in his defence, claimed the women in the videos had consented to sex, and insisted he was pursuing his interest in “rape role play”.
The court heard he used apps like Bumble to target victims as well as Chinese messaging services WeChat and Little Red Book.
After the verdicts, UCL said it is “appalled by these horrific offences” and supported the police appeal for more victims to come forward.
Zou, of Churchyard Row in Southwark, denied but was convicted of 11 counts of rape, false imprisonment, three counts of voyeurism, ten counts of possessing extreme pornographic images, and three counts of having drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.
The jury found Zou not guilty of two counts of possession of extreme pornographic images, and five charge of possessing drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Zou has been held in custody since his arrest.
