A London PhD student described as one of the most prolific sexual offenders in British history has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years for drugging and raping 10 women in the UK and China.
Zhenhao Zou, 28, a Chinese national, lured women to his flat with invitations to study or have drinks between 2019 and 2024. He drugged and filmed the assaults, and police fear more than 50 other women could be victims. Since his conviction in March, 24 women have come forward.
Sentencing Zou at Inner London Crown Court, Judge Cottage KC described him as a 'highly manipulative and intelligent young man' who treated his victims as 'pieces in an elaborate game for one'. She said he posed a 'significant risk' and had an 'abiding sexual interest in asserting power and control over women'.
Detectives have urged women in the UK and China to come forward if they suspect they were victims. DCI Richard Mackenzie said the 'sheer scale of his offending, which spanned two countries, makes him one of the most prolific predators we have ever seen'.
Victims described the devastating impact of the attacks. One said she woke to find Zou 'thrusting violently against my body' and that the memory is 'etched into my soul forever'. Another, with bipolar disorder, described the disintegration of her mental health after being blamed on social media for going to his house.
Zou was convicted of 28 offences, including 11 rapes, numerous counts of voyeurism, and possessing extreme pornography and drugs to commit sexual offences. Police found 1,664 hours of footage, including 58 videos of rapes, at his flat in Elephant and Castle.
