A Chinese student at one of the UK's top universities raped dozens of women, some of whom may not know it, police say. Investigators say 28-year-old Zhenhao Zou preyed on fellow Chinese students in Britain, luring them to his apartments in London and China and giving them drinks laced with the "date rape" drug butanediol, the Washington Post reports. After he was arrested following one woman's accusation in January last year, police found hundreds of videos of Zou raping apparently drugged women, reports the New York Times reports. He was convicted earlier this month of raping 10 women, eight of whom police were unable to identify. Police on Wednesday said 23 more women have since come forward, and investigators believe there could be dozens more victims.
"Given how prolific Zou seems to have been, there is every potential he could be one of the most prolific offenders that we've ever seen," said Metropolitan Police Commander Kevin Southworth, per CBS News. Zou was a mechanical engineering PhD student at University College London between 2019 and 2024 and police have urged women, especially Chinese students, who may have met him through social media or dating apps during that time to come forward. Police are also trying to determine whether there are more victims from his time at Queen's College Belfast, where he studied between 2017 and 2019.
"Due to the nature of Zou's offending, detectives believe that some women may not know they have been a victim-survivor and do not underestimate how distressing and difficult it may be to read or hear about his crimes following this verdict," police said in a statement. Police say they were assisted by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security after they discovered that some of the crimes happened in Zou's homeland. He is due to be sentenced in June. (More United Kingdom stories.)
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