Former UCL student accused of drugging and raping 10 women
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Trigger Warning: Article contains distressing content and sexual violence
Zhenhao Zou, a former PhD student at UCL is standing trial at Inner London Crown Court, accused of drugging and raping 10 women between September 2019 and May 2023.
The 27-year-old defendant denies all charges, which include 11 counts of rape, three counts of voyeurism, 12 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and eight of possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply.
He had been studying Engineering at UCL, having previously studied in Belfast, after moving to the UK from China 7 years ago.
“To the outside world, he undoubtedly presents as a smart and charming young man” prosecutor Catherine Farrelly KC told the court, adding that he was “a persistent sexual predator; a voyeur and a rapist”.
“The prosecution case at this trial is that he would meet women, he would stupefy them, either with drink or drugs, and, once they were significantly under the influence of drink or drugs, he would rape them.” The jury was told that “often he would record himself doing so” and that the recordings would be shown during the trial, said Farrelly.
On Thursday, jurors were visibly upset as two 10-minute clips of the student which prosecution say show the defendant raping a woman, were played in court.
The court was told that only two of the alleged victims have been identified, but not the remaining eight. Police in London began investigations in May 2023 after receiving a call from one of the women.
She had been invited back to Zou’s flat in Elephant and Castle after a party, where she had been pressured to drink a lot of alcohol, jurors were told. Feeling “out of control”, the woman tried to flee but the defendant “dragged her back by her clothes into his bedroom”, prosecution said. She told the detectives that he raped her while unconscious. The woman initially decided against pursuing an allegation due to her mental health.
She later posted two videos on Chinese social media platforms LittleRedBook and WeChat “because she wanted others to be careful”. The court was told that she’d been contacted by another alleged victim, who was alone with Zou in ChinaTown after a dinner with friends and remembers vomiting. The jury was told that the woman “can’t remember everything that happened there or how she came to be separated from her friends”.
Her next memory is of being at Zou’s flat, where “he was having sex with her in a fast and forceful way”, Farrelly told the court. She had asked him to stop but lost consciousness soon after and has no recollection of what happened afterwards.
The defence will argue that the sexual interactions were consensual, that drugs and alcohol were voluntarily consumed by the women, and that some of the footage captured involved “role-playing”, jurors were told.
The criminal trial commenced on 27 January 2025 and is expected to last from four to six weeks.
Students’ Union Message: If anyone is concerned or affected by this, or by similar incidents, there are confidential resources available providing immediate support. Links to support can be found on this page.
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, or go to https://rapecrisis.org.uk.