A timeline of the crimes, investigation and trial of UCL student rapist Zhenhao Zou

TW: Rape, drugs

The University College London (UCL) PhD student Zhenhao Zou has been found guilty of 11 counts of rape, among other crimes. Here’s a complete timeline of the case of the UCL student rapist Zhenhao Zou, from the investigation to the trial.

April 2022

Zou met a woman in April 2022 on a dating app called Soul. They had dinner in Chinatown in London. Zou pressured the woman into drinking whisky until she was sick in the street. He then raped her in his student accommodation on Woburn Place, near Russell Square in the Bloomsbury area of Lonndon.

18th May 2023

A woman who studied Maths with Zou ran into him at a friend’s party, then went back to his flat in the same building. He kept encouraging her to drink wine. She felt uncomfortable and tried to leave. Zou dragged her by her clothes from the front door to his bedroom. He pressured her into drinking vodka until she felt “out of control”. He then raped her. She woke up at about 6am in his bed, naked, feeling “dizzy and drowsy”.

Zou and the woman texted each other in the days following the incident. The court saw translations of these messages. He messaged her a phrase which translates as either “it was wrong” or “I did something wrong”. A day later, the woman told him, “You are so disgusting” and “Now I just want to expose you”.

21st May 2023

This woman told the police about Zhenhao Zou raping her.

She found Zou’s other accuser on social media. The women realised they’d had experiences with the same man.

24th January 2024

The Metropolitan Police has released video footage of the moment when they arrested Zhenhao Zou.

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Police discovered a stash of ketamine, MDMA, xanax and GHB in the flat. Police also found several videos of him raping women while they were unconscious. The flat also contained women’s jewellery and clothes, which the prosecution said he kept as “souvenirs” of when he raped them.

February 2024

The police interviewed the woman Zou raped in May 2023. She said: “I felt very disgusting but I had no strength to fight him off. I can’t even remember when this finished because I had already passed out.”

January 2025

Inner London Crown Court

Zhenhao Zou’s trial began at the Inner London Crown Court. He was accused of 11 charges of rape, 12 charges of possessing extreme pornography, eight counts of possessing a controlled drug with intent to supply it, three counts of voyeurism, and one count of false imprisonment.

He denied all the charges, claiming the women in his videos were consenting to roleplay.

You can read a more detailed timeline of the UCL student rapist Zhenhao Zou’s trial here.

3rd February 2025

A statement from the woman who Zhenhao Zou raped on 18th May 2023 was read to the court. She described the incident and the aftermath. She said: “I could not sleep, I could not eat, I felt disgusting. Physically, it was much worse than mentally.”

5th March 2025

The court found Zhenhao Zou guilty of 11 counts of rape, three counts of voyeurism, 12 counts of possession of extreme pornographic images, one count of false imprisonment and eight of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.

19th June 2025

Zhenhao Zou will be sentenced at the Inner London Crown Court on this day.

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Featured image of Zhenhao Zou courtesy of the Metropolitan Police. Featured image of University College London by Glyn Baker via Creative Commons license.