A British judge sentenced Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou to life with a minimum of 24 years in prison for drugging and raping 10 women in England and China.
During a four-week trial at Inner London Crown Court earlier this year, Zou, 28, was found guilty of the attacks, which occurred between 2019 and 2023. Judge Rosina Cottage on Thursday described Zou as “very bright young man” who used a manipulative, “charming mask” to hide that he is a “sexual predator.” According to the London Metropolitan Police Service, Cottage informed Zou that he would have to serve 22 years and 227 days in prison before being eligible for parole. He was found guilty by a jury of 28 charges, including voyeurism, possessing an extreme pornographic image, possessing a drug to commit a sexual offense, and false imprisonment. “The lengthy sentence reflects justice for the women who are victim-survivors of Zou and is testament to the extraordinary lengths gone to by investigators, who left no stone unturned in their pursuit to take a dangerous sexual predator off the streets,” Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement.
When the first woman came forward to say that he had raped her, Zou, who claimed that the encounters were consensual, was pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering at University College London in 2023. Police seized Zou’s phone as part of the investigation, where they found videos of him raping women who were unconscious. A search of his apartment in south London turned up sedatives and recording equipment.Investigators watched hundreds of videos as they built the case of evidence against Zou, which led to the conclusion that he had not only committed offences in London but also in China, according to police.
Police are still investigating Zou’s crimes and at least 24 women have come forward with new allegations as a result of the publicity surrounding his trial.
PhD student handed life sentence after raping women in England, China
