Convicted Serial Rapist May Have Dozens More Victims Across Multiple Countries, Police Fear

A man convicted of drugging and raping 10 women across multiple countries this year may have dozens of additional victims, police in London claim.

Zhenhao Zou, a 28-year-old Chinese Ph.D student, was found guilty in London last month of drugging and raping 10 women both in the United Kingdom and China, according to the Metropolitian Police Service. Zou has lived in the UK since 2017 as a student at Queen’s University Belfast and University College London.

This week, the Met Police said in a statement that 23 additional women had come forward to make reports about Zou following his conviction, after police publicly pleaded with survivors to come forward. Authorities also say they have “evidence to suggest that there may be more than 50 other victim-survivors” who have not yet been “traced,” per the statement.

Police found through their investigation that Zou met women using social media platforms and dating apps such as WeChat, Little Red Book, or Bumble and would invite them to his home under the guise of studying or having a drink with him. 

Once inside his central London home, he would offer the women a drink which contained a substance that left his victims drifting in and out of consciousness. While the women were unconscious, Zou filmed himself as he raped and sexually assaulted them, according to police.

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After a woman came forward to report Zou, police searched his home and found the substances as well as a number of hidden cameras, laptops and cell phones that investigators said “uncovered the true scale of Zou’s offending.” 

One of the victims who came forward to police, “Rachel,” told the BBC that she held off on reporting because she initially agreed to go back to his place for drinks, so she thought it was consensual. When at his apartment in Dongguan, China, Zou turned his back to Rachel and spiked her drink. 

Rachel told the BBC that she experienced a “wave of dizziness” before Zou took her up to a bedroom, where she was unable to speak or move as he allegedly raped her.

“Zhenhao Zou is a dangerous and prolific sexual predator, who manipulated and drugged women in order to prey on them in the most cowardly way,” Kevin Southworth of the Met Police said in a statement. 

“We are determined to support all victim-survivors and are now asking women who believe they may have concerns about Zou to please come forward,” Southworth added. 

Zou was found guilty of 28 offences in March – 11 counts of rape, three counts of voyeurism, 10 counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one count of false imprisonment and three counts of committing an offense with intent to commit a sexual offense.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.