UCL student accused of raping 10 women tells court he likes ‘rape role play’

TW: Rape, drugs

A UCL PhD student accused raping 10 women has told Inner London Crown Court he likes “rape role play”.

Zhenhao Zou is currently on trial for 11 counts of rape, three of voyeurism, 12 of possession of extreme pornographic images and one of false imprisonment. He denies all charges.

The 27-year-old mechanical engineering student was asked about Female A, who has not been identified by police. Two of the rape charges Zou faces are relating to her.

Zou said he met Female A on a dating app in April 2022, and that they had sex at his student accommodation in Bloomsbury, central London.

He explained that she told him she liked uniform role play, with Zou adding: “We specifically discussed the kinds of role play I like, which was rape role play.”

Videos were shown to the court of them having sex, and when asked about the footage, the defendant said the topic of making them came up when they spoke about role play.

He was asked by his lawyer, Mark Cotter KC, whether he showed those videos to anyone, to which Zou said he did not.

In six of the videos shown to the court, six of the women had their eyes closed, and when questioned why this was the case, Zou said: “I had asked them to do that.”

He was further asked by his lawyer why he requested this, to which he replied: “Because I have this kind of preferences. I have sex with them when they seem to be asleep.”

He also said the women had consented to being filmed. None of them have been identified.

However, the last woman the defendant is accused of raping has spoken out in court.

Most Read

Right, what did Grace *actually* say in those Love Island screenshots and are they real?

What happened to Belle Gibson’s boyfriend, son and family after her scam in Apple Cider Vinegar

Here’s what tragically happened to the anglerfish after it swam to the surface

She said it happened at his flat in Elephant and Castle, and that she had been drunk. She also added that he prevented her from leaving.

The woman, who said she used to study maths with Zou, told the court that she went to leave after starting worry there was something “odd” about him. She added that she cried on the floor but the defendant dragged her by her clothes back towards his bedroom, then made her drink vodka.

She said: “He forced me to stay at his place that night after a great amount of alcohol. My emotion was not stable. So under the extreme loss of my emotional control, an agreement we had was either you let me go or give me money so that I can stay.”

Inner London Crown Court, where the trial is taking place, via Creative Commons

The woman then further told the court: “I could not sleep, I could not eat, I felt disgusting. Physically, it was much worse than mentally.”

Zou spoke about the night, saying he did not know the camera on his bedside table was filming them. He further told the court that the camera could be started manually or via a motion sensor.

When asked about why he didn’t let the woman leave, he said that due to “her state at that time I didn’t think was safe for her or for other people”.

Drugs were also found by police in Zou’s wardrobe. Two bottles of Butanediol had been purchased online with the defendant saying he used them to get high in nightclubs.

According to the BBC, he said he put it into drinks and drank them himself so he could feel “happier in parties”.

However, in a police statement from 2023, he said: “The two bottles in my room were bought in July 2023 and the substance is Butanediol which I use for moisturising my face and body.

“The bottles are sealed because I had not used it yet as I had not finished my moisturiser.”

In court, he later claimed he did not use the drugs for moisturising.

The trial continues.

For any UCL students or staff members seeking support, you can find information here.

Featured image via Unsplash