A Chinese PhD student who drugged and raped 10 women in the UK and China was on Thursday (Jun 19) jailed for life, with a minimum term of 24 years.
Passing sentence, UK judge Rosina Cottage said that to the world, Zou Zhenhao, 28, appeared “well to do, ambitious and charming” but this was in fact a mask hiding a “sexual predator”.
Zou, who lived in south London, used online platforms and dating apps to meet women, inviting them to his home under the pretext of having drinks or studying before drugging them.
Zou was found guilty of 28 offences: 11 counts of rape, three counts of voyeurism, 10 counts of possession of extreme pornographic images, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Over the course of the four-week trial, prosecutors presented evidence proving Zou was a serial rapist who used social media platforms and dating websites to target his victims.
After inviting them to his apartments in London and China, he drugged them before carrying out his attacks. Zou would secretly film these rapes using a mobile device and hidden cameras.
He kept some of the victims’ jewellery and clothing afterwards, prosecutors said.
Police officers found hundreds of videos of the attacks.
He was jailed at Inner London Crown Court, with the 24-year minimum term reduced by time he had already spent in custody.
“Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women. His life sentence reflects the heinous acts and harm he caused to women and the danger he posed to society,” said prosecutor Saira Pike.
Detective Inspector Richard MacKenzie from London’s Metropolitan Police said outside court: “The sheer scale of his offending, which spanned two countries, makes him one of the most prolific predators we have ever seen.”
Originally from Dongguan in Guangdong Province, Zou is believed to have moved to the UK in 2017 and began studying for a PhD at University College London in 2019.
