Chinese PhD student accused of being 'persistent sexual predator, voyeur and rapist'
Chinese PhD student accused of being 'persistent sexual predator, voyeur and rapist'
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A Chinese PhD student who has been accused of drugging and raping 10 women was "a persistent sexual predator, a voyeur and a rapist," a jury has heard. Zhenhao Zou, 27, faces 11 counts of rape, three counts of voyeurism, 12 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and eight of possession of a controlled substance with intent to supply.
The student appeared at Inner London Crown Court on Wednesday and denied all charges. Mr Zou moved to Belfast in 2017 to study at Queen's University before relocating to London in 2019 to do a master's degree and then a PhD at UCL. He is accused of raping the women between September 2019 and May 2023.
Catherine Farrelly opened the prosecution case by saying: "To the outside world, he undoubtedly presents as a smart and charming young man. "However, as you know from the indictment in this case, the document which contains 35 separate criminal allegations against him, the prosecution say that he is also a persistent sexual predator; a voyeur and a rapist.".
She added: "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 those drinks or drugs, he would then rape them. "Often, he would record himself doing so and during this trial, you will be shown several recordings which the prosecution says are the defendant's souvenirs of many rapes that he had committed.
