Jurors visibly upset as clips of alleged rape by Chinese student played in court
Jurors visibly upset as clips of alleged rape by Chinese student played in court
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Jurors were visibly upset as they were shown footage of a Chinese PhD student allegedly raping a woman. One member of the jury was in tears as two 10 minute clips were played at Inner London Crown Court on Thursday, which prosecutors say show Zhenhao Zou, 27, raping a woman identified only as Female A.
The woman can be heard in the clips telling Zou to stop while struggling to stay awake and the defendant is seen with what appears to be scratches on his back, jurors were told. Zou remained emotionless in the dock as the clips were played. In the first clip, Zou can be seen positioning the camera to point at a naked woman who is lying motionless on a bed in a room where the blind is drawn before he has sex with her, jurors were told.
Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, said in her opening on Wednesday that the woman initially appears to be “unconscious” and shows signs of “upset and pain” when Zou has sex with her. Female A tells him to stop and that it hurts, and at one point Zou can be heard saying “the sound insulation here is very good”, jurors were told.
In the second clip, in what prosecutors say is the same room, the defendant can again be seen having sex with Female A while she tells him to stop, the court heard. Detective constable Jack Woods, giving evidence, told jurors: “There appears to be multiple scratches on (Zou’s) back on both sides.”.
He said there were visible “red marks” on the defendant’s back. DC Woods said the two clips appear to have been filmed at student accommodation at Woburn Place near Russell Square in London, where Zou was living from September 2019 to September 2020.
