

A former postgraduate student is on trial accused of drugging and raping 10 women during his time at UCL.
Zhenhao Zou, 27, is charged with 11 counts of rape between September 2019 and May 2023 while he was at UCL studying for a master’s in engineering and then a research PhD.
On Tuesday, the Inner London Crown Court heard that Zou, described by the prosecution as a “persistent sexual predator; a voyeur, and a rapist”, filmed nine of his attacks and kept the footage as “souvenirs” for his own gratification.
The Chinese international student denied all 35 charges against him, including 11 counts of rape on 10 women, 12 of possession of extreme pornography, eight of possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply, three counts of voyeurism, and one count of false imprisonment.
Prosecution barrister Catherine Farrelly KC told the court: “The prosecution case at this trial is that he would meet women, he would stupefy them, either with drink or drugs, and, once they were significantly under the influence of drink or drugs, he would rape them.”
Jurors were told that several recordings to be shown at the trial were “the defendant’s souvenirs of many rapes that he had committed; items that he kept for his own private sexual gratification so that he could watch, at his leisure, his rapes of these women who he had rendered unconscious and totally vulnerable to his will.”
However, only two of the ten women in Zou’s videos have been identified by the police.
The court heard how one woman who was invited back to Zou’s south London home after attending a party was pressured to drink lots of wine until she felt “out of control”.
The woman said Zou would not let her leave, and that she was “dragged back by her clothes into his bedroom” when she tried to run out of the flat. She told the court he raped her while she was unconscious.
The woman brought the allegations against Zou to the police in May 2023 but later decided against pursuing them due to her mental health.
A second woman who was identified by police told jurors she got in touch with the first woman after seeing her post on social media about the incident and realised they shared the same experience with the same man.
The court was told that the second woman went on a date with Zou in Chinatown where she drank a lot of whiskey and vomited in the street. She told the jury that her next memory was being raped by Zou in his flat and that she had asked him to stop before she lost consciousness.
Zou denies the charges and the judge told jurors that the defence will argue the sexual interactions were consensual.
He will say drugs and alcohol were voluntarily consumed by the women and some of the footage captured involved “role-playing”.
The engineering student is additionally facing eight counts of drug possession with the intent to supply after police discovered a stash of ketamine, MDMA, Xanax, and GHB in his Elephant and Castle flat.
During the search, police also found videos which the prosecution says show him raping the women.
The trial continues.
In a statement, UCL said: “We understand allegations of this nature are deeply distressing, and our priority is to support our students, alumni, staff, and wider community.”
The Students’ Union said: “We are aware that a former UCL student is currently being tried by a criminal court for alleged acts of serious sexual misconduct. The trial started this week, and we know that for many in our community, the focus on this subject matter will make this an extremely challenging time.
“We are working closely with UCL to make sure that, as the trial develops, our community is supported. We are a community that exists to support one another, please know that you are not alone.”
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this report, support is available.
- Contact Rape Crisis England & Wales for confidential 24/7 support for survivors of sexual violence at 0808 500 2222 or visit www.rapecrisis.org.uk.
- Contact Victim Support for free 24/7 help with emotional and practical support for anyone affected by crime at 0808 168 9111 or visit www.victimsupport.org.uk.
- Contact Samaritans for 24/7 emotional support for anyone in distress or struggling with mental health at 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org.