International appeal to trace further potential victims of rapist PhD student

An international appeal is being launched to trace dozens more potential victims who may have fallen prey to serial rapist Zhenhao Zou.

The Chinese PhD student could be one of the most prolific sex offenders the UK has seen, amid fears he could have drugged and assaulted more than 50 other women in the UK and China.

The 28-year-old used hidden or handheld cameras to record the attacks, keeping the footage and sometimes the women’s belongings as souvenirs.

He targeted young, Chinese women, inviting them to his flat for drinks or to study, before drugging and assaulting them.

Zou was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offences relating to one victim, as well as three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol.

He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence, and four counts of possession of ketamine with intent to commit a sexual offence.

Metropolitan Police Commander Kevin Southworth said: “Zou was clearly a dangerous, prolific and predatory individual who preyed on his victim survivors in the most cowardly and despicable manner.

“In addition to the charges that you’ve seen brought during this trial, we also have evidence that he may have potentially attacked as many as 50 other women in the same awful nature, and that’s why we’re launching this appeal now in the hope that as many of those victim survivors as possible will come forward and give us the opportunity to give them the support that they deserve, and ultimately bring him to the further justice that he deserves for what he has done.

“Zou is a particularly cowardly and deceitful individual. He has done all that he can in these offences to incapacitate his victims to the point where they could not resist his attack, and in many instances may not even remember what has occurred to them.

“It’s a particularly appalling set of crimes, and my heart goes out to the victim survivors and to all those who may have been affected by his awful behaviour.”

The Metropolitan Police are appealing to anyone who thinks they may have been targeted by Zou to contact the force either by emailing survivors@met.police.uk, or the major incident public portal on the force’s website.

Mr Southworth said: “We believe he may have met some of the potential victims socially and then invited them back to his property, essentially on the basis of inviting them around for drinks or to study, and then, ultimately, once there, he’s spiked their drinks using drugs and then committed these awful offences against them.”

He said the investigation into Zou was one of the most complex rape investigations ever carried out by the Met and an “exceptionally difficult case”.

The major incident portal will be translated into languages other than English for the first time, and interpreters will be available for non-English speaking victims.

During Zou’s trial, a call to police from one of the women led to questions over the quality of interpreter made available.

Mr Southworth said: “It’s a matter of severe regret that the victims didn’t necessarily get that best translation at the time.”

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Richard Mackenzie said: “Our message to potential victims is to please come forward and speak with us. We will robustly investigate.

“But intrinsic to that is that we can offer support and can signpost to external partners so victims can get the help they may need.

“Each victim will have a dedicated officer overseeing their case and supporting them through the criminal justice process.

“We are keeping an open mind currently about the identities of the unidentified victims.

“However, we are particularly keen to hear from women from the Chinese student community who may have met Zou and were living in and around London between 2019 and 2024.

“We would also like to speak to potential victims who may have met Zou while he was living in China.

“Women may have met him on online platforms, including student forums on the Chinese social media apps WeChat or Little Red Book, or they may have spoken to him on dating apps such as Bumble.

“We also know that Zou kept items from victims, such as jewellery and clothing, but we hope that sharing information regarding those may jog women’s memories in the event they are missing these personal items.”

Zou lived in a student flat in Woburn Place, near Russell Square in central London, and later in a flat in the Uncle building in Churchyard Row in Elephant and Castle, south London.

Mr Mackenzie added: “Due to the nature of his offending, we believe some women may not, in fact, know that they are a victim, and we do not underestimate how distressing and difficult it may be to read or hear about these crimes following this verdict.

“We want to reassure those women that reports will be fully investigated and dealt with with the utmost sensitivity, care and compassion. However, we also understand that not every victim may wish to speak to the police.

“So we have taken advice from the independent charity Rape Crisis. They offer support for women to seek help and guidance from advisers via their 24/7 helpline.

“As part of our appeal, we are also keen to speak to any witnesses who might have helpful information, in particular, anyone who might have met Zou at parties or spoken to him on social media apps.”