Serial rapist Zhenhao Zou facing second trial as more women come forward

The Guardian

21-06-2025

Serial rapist Zhenhao Zou is facing a second trial with police and prosecutors preparing to charge the Chinese student with a second round of offences.
Zou, 28, is already serving a minimum 24 years for attacking 10 young women in London and China.
Sources say there have been discussions between detectives and lawyers for the Crown Prosecution Service about at least one more trial for the Chinese student.
Zou was sentenced on Thursday to life imprisonment, even offering to be chemically castrated in hopes of getting a lighter sentence. Since his conviction in March at least 24 women have come forward to British police, several of whom have made formal statements which could be admissible in a new trial.
Zou came to Britain as a student, first in Belfast in 2017 and then in London. While a PhD student in mechanical engineering at University College London he was arrested in January 2024.
He drugged and attacked women, videoing most of his crimes for his own sexual gratification which turned into the compelling evidence that saw him convicted.
One source said: 'We expect more charges; we expect a second trial.'
Detectives at the Metropolitan police fear the effects of the drugs used in the attacks could leave victims with no memory of the assaults. Officers suspect he could be one of the worst sexual offenders in British history after recovering videos of him attacking a further 50 victims.
In total, there were 1,270 videos, 1,660 hours of footage, and 58 videos of Zou raping women, most of whom are still to be identified. There were also drugs, including those used to stupefy his victims. In court, he bragged of having sex with several women a month.
The videos show a male, believed to be Zou, attacking a series of women. Some of the videos do not show the victims' faces, and about half are believed to have taken place in the UK, with detectives identifying which country attacks took place in by scouring videos for clues, such as the style of plug socket visible in the room.
The drugs can render a victim motionless or barely able to speak, but they can also lead to bouts of euphoria.
Despite the convictions against Zou for attacking 10 women, prosecutors want to be able to counter any defence in any new trial that the women were consenting.
Sentencing Zou the judge, Rosina Cottage KC, said he would 'groom' victims over social media, and added: 'These women you treated callously as sex toys for your pleasure.'
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html