London police say Zhenhao Zou, Chinese student convicted of raping 10 women, likely attacked dozens more

CBS News

02-04-2025

London —
Police in the British capital said Wednesday that 23 more women had come forward to say they may have been sexually assaulted by a London-based Chinese PHD student who was convicted last month of raping 10 others. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was
convicted in March of drugging and raping 10 women
in the U.K. and China after "one of the most complex investigations" London's Metropolitan Police said it had carried out to date.
Investigators say Zou invited women, many of them thought to be fellow Chinese students studying in Britain, to one of two addresses in the U.K. and gave them drinks laced with butanediol, which becomes the depressant GHB when ingested, and then filmed himself sexually assaulting and raping them. GHB is often used by sexual predators to incapacitate their targets, as it can be administered covertly.
Investigators were only able to identify two of the 10 women seen in the videos that helped prosecutors convict Zou, police said.
Since an appeal was launched for other survivors to come forward — based largely on the sheer volume of evidence found on Zou's devices — 23 more women have contacted the London police, some of them living in the U.K., others in China and elsewhere, the
force said Wednesday
.
Investigators for the London Metropolitan Police, often known simply as The Met, say they have evidence to suggest that Zou attacked more than 50 other women, and their work to identify those survivors continues.
"Given how prolific Zou seems to have been, there is every potential he could be one of the most prolific offenders that we've ever seen," said Met Commander Kevin Southworth. "The primary places where we believe offending may have occurred at this time appears to be... here in London, and over in China."
Zou studied in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from 2017-2019, before moving to London. None of the women who have contacted police thus far have been from Belfast, but Southworth said investigators were "open-minded about" the possibility of there being survivors there, too.
"Given how active and prolific Zou appears to have been with his awful offending, there is every prospect that he could have offended anywhere in the world," he added.
The Met has released officer
bodycam video
of Zou's arrest in South London in January 2024.
Zou, who was studying engineering at University College London, was found guilty by unanimous jury ruling on 11 counts of rape in March, after the court heard how he had preyed on women he met online.
Zou kept some items belonging to his victims, including articles of jewelry and clothing, according to the police.
He is due to be sentenced on June 19.
Police issued a fresh appeal on Wednesday for other survivors to come forward, and said they were still compiling evidence to be submitted after Zou's sentencing.