UCL student rapist Zhenhao Zou could face second trial after 24 more women come forward

Serial rapist Zhenhao Zou is facing the possibility of a second trial after 24 new potential victims have come forward.

Zou was first arrested in January 2024 while pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering at UCL. He was recently sentenced to life imprisonment for 35 charges including 11 counts of rape, with a minimum sentence of 24 years.

Since his arrest, several of his victims have encouraged other women who might have been raped by Zou to report their experiences to the police.

At least 24 more women have made formal statements, which police sources say could be admissible in a second trial, the Guardian reports.

Zou first came to the UK in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s University Belfast.

He then moved to London to pursue postgraduate study at UCL, living in student accommodation on Woburn Place and later moving to a luxury flat in Elephant and Castle, where he was arrested.

Zou’s Elephant and Castle flat via Metropolitan Police

Following his arrest, police recovered 58 videos of Zou raping his victims, most of whom are yet to be identified.

Police estimate that around half of the videos were taken in the UK, with the rest being taken in China, Zou’s home country. They also discovered drugs used by Zou to immobilise his victims. He is believed to be one of the worst sexual offenders in British history.

One of Zhenhao Zou’s cameras via Metropolitan Police

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Zou’s crimes were uncovered in 2023 after a woman came forward to the police about an alleged attack. Her claim wasn’t backed by sufficient evidence for a criminal charge, but it led to the discovery of the drug materials and damning videos.

At his sentencing hearing two weeks ago, the court heard witness impact statements from two of his victims describing the devastating effects of the attacks on their lives and mental health. Zou appeared unmoved by the statements, maintaining a blank expression as his sentence was read out.

Judge Rosina Cottage KC said that Zou treated women “callously”, like “ragdolls”, and “used them as sex toys for [his] pleasure”.

Despite his conviction, prosecutors are reluctant to pursue a second trial until they are confident that they can counter any accusations from the defense that the new potential victims had consented to sex.

Featured image via Metropolitan Police