My Take | ‘Cowardly’ rapist must be held to account for all his horrific crimes
A Chinese student convicted in London of drugging and raping 10 women may have attacked a further 50, some who may not even know
The case of a Chinese student convicted in London of drugging and raping 10 women is chilling and disturbing. It also has some highly unusual features.
Police believe Zou Zhenhao, 28, from Dongguan, may have attacked a further 50 women, which would make him one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders.
Zou, a PhD student at University College London (UCL), was found guilty of raping 10 women – one of them twice. He preyed on his victims from 2019 until arrested in January 2024.
The student spiked their drinks and left them either partly or completely unconscious, filming the horrific assaults with hidden cameras. The case was described by the Metropolitan Police as one of the most complex it has ever investigated.
Only two of the victims, both attacked in London, have been identified. They gave evidence. The others, seen in harrowing videos retrieved from Zou’s devices, have either decided not to come forward or don’t even realise they were attacked. Convictions in those cases were secured on the basis of video evidence.
Women were raped in China as well as in London. It was possible for Zou to be prosecuted for these crimes in a British court because of a law which targets the country’s citizens or residents if they commit sex offences elsewhere.