Who is Zhenhao Zou? Student’s ‘charming’ manner hid a sinister truth

Zhenhao Zou appeared to be charming and a model student, but the videos he made of his crimes revealed the sinister truth that he was a serial rapist.

The Chinese national, who was studying for a PhD in engineering at UCL, enjoyed a busy social life while living in London and was described by police as seeming very self-assured.

Born in Guangdong Province, his father works in what was described as a state-owned enterprise and his mother is a teacher, the jury was told.

Zou, 28, was wealthy enough to study in the UK for several years, and while in London had a wardrobe full of designer clothes and a Rolex watch.

He could afford to pay thousands per month in rent and had facial surgery and a hair transplant.

Zou first came to the UK to study in Belfast in 2017, before moving to London two years later where he did a masters and PhD at UCL.

While in London, and during trips to his native China, he would contact women mainly on social media apps, before inviting them back to his flat for drinks or to study.

But he would then spike their drink and rape them, often filming the attack on hidden or handheld cameras as a souvenir.

Police studied the footage to work out whether the attacks had taken place in either of his flats in London, or used the dates when he would have travelled back to China.

They found sedative drugs in his flat as well as MDMA – Zou told investigators he brought some drugs back from China, while others he bought in nightclubs in London.

Although he had studied in the UK for several years in English, he refused to speak English during his trial at Inner London Crown Court, and also used an interpreter during police interview.

Detective Superintendent Vanessa Britton said that on the surface Zou was “a model student” with an active social life.

“He came across in interview as really self assured,” she said.

“I think the interviewers described him as charming.

“Clearly the evidence and the videos show him in a completely different light.”