A Chinese PhD student accused of drugging and abusing ten women told a court he is into ‘rape role play’ and that his victims were only pretending to be raped in recordings of the alleged attacks.
Zhenhao Zou, 27, has admitted he likes ‘girls to be still and quiet’ during sex but denies ever drugging or forcing himself on them.
Zou has been charged with 11 rapes of 10 women, three counts of voyeurism, 12 counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence.
He allegedly drugged his victims before raping them and filming it during September 2019 and May 2023 when he was studying in the UK.
Two alleged victims, who say he attacked them in London, have given evidence in the trial.
Seven of the rapes are said to have been committed in China, Inner London Crown Court has heard.
In an extraordinary case, the majority of his victims have never been identified after police brought many of the rape charges based on the defendant’s own recordings of the attacks captured on his mobile phone and a series of secret cameras, it was said.
Zou denies all charges.
Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, asked Zou: ‘How many women in London, have you had this role play with?’
Zou responded: ‘I do not remember.’
Ms Farrelly asked: ‘Where do you find these women who are happy to pretend to be raped with you?’
Zou replied: ‘I did not ask them straight away.
‘It happened when we were discussing about sex, I got to know their sexual experiences, then I can know if they share the same ideas.
‘I normally met them on dating apps.’
Ms Farrelly asked: ‘And is it quite common that there are women happy to pretend?’
Zou said: ‘I would not say it was common and I did not have many opportunities.’
The prosecutor asked: ‘How many women were there who had rape roleplay while you were recording them?’
Zou told her: ‘I am not able to remember this, filming was only for enhancing my sex actions. It does not make me remember them better.
‘Filming is one of these actions during sex like putting on and taking off a condom. It does not help me with my memory.
Ms Farrelly went on to ask about messages between Zou and an alleged victim, known only as Female A.
The two had met on two occasions: the first when she came to his flat, and the second when they went for lunch and shopping and then returned to his place for the afternoon.
Ms Farrelly asked: ‘Let me just ask about the recording, that was a recording for you to watch?’
Zou replied: ‘Yes but it was damaged.’
‘You made the recording to watch it again to get sexual pleasure from it?’ asked Ms Farrelly.
‘Yes’ said Zou.
‘You say that Female A knew that you were doing that, as part of a rape role play and she agreed?’ asked Ms Farrelly
‘Yes’ said Zou.
‘We have all seen that recording, you can see the women’s face quite clearly’ said Ms Farrelly.
‘Yes,’ Zhou responded.
‘So your evidence is that this woman allowed you to keep a recording of her with her face in it that looked like she was being raped? asked Ms Farelly.
‘Yes,’ said Zou.
Zou went on to say that, while in China, he had given women luxury items such as clothes and handbags, in return for them pretending to be asleep while he had sex with them.
Ms Farrelly asked Zou about a recording of an alleged victim known as Female D: ‘This is not her pretending to be asleep.’
Zou said that he had asked her to pretend to be asleep, but that the woman had decided to act as though he were raping her.
Ms Farrelly read a short transcript of the video in which the woman could be heard saying it was painful and ‘please stop’ several times.
‘Just to be clear, this is Female D improvising?’ asked Ms Farrelly
‘Yes, you could say that,’ said Zou.
‘She decided to do this all by herself?’ asked Ms Farrelly.
‘Yes,’ replied Zou.
‘Another one of your very many lies,’ said Ms Farrelly.
Ms Farrelly told the court that, when interviewed by the police, Zou had never mentioned role play.
The defendant first came to the UK in September 2017 to study at Queen’s University in Belfast before going on to do a master’s degree at University College London (UCL) from 2019 to 2021, followed by a PhD at the same university from 2021.
He was studying at UCL when he was accused of carrying out 11 rapes on unconscious women stupefied with a cocktail of drugs including MDMA, GHB, ketamine and xanax.
Police launched an investigation when a Chinese woman claimed that she had been raped after being plied with vodka and wine at a friend’s party in May 2023.
Police later recovered a video of the attack in which the victim can be heard pleading with Zou, saying she felt unwell and wanted to go home, but he urged her to finish a large glass of vodka he had given her, the court heard.
When she begged for him to let her go, Zou allegedly responded ‘Calm down, don’t move. Lie down.’
In one clip, an unconscious woman appears to wake up and tries to stop the attack crying: ‘I don’t want, I beg you…I hate you. I will never have anything to do with you again.’
Zou allegedly responded: ‘Really don’t push me, it’s pointless.
‘It’s not the first time we have done it. This is the second time. The sound insulation here is very good.’
The prosecutor said: ‘She tells the defendant to let go of her. She asks the defendant not to restrain her and tells him that he is controlling her.
‘At one point in the recording, she can be heard screaming repeatedly and she appears to try and get up from the bed on several occasions and the defendant pushes her back down each time.’
The victim later posted on social media about the attack which led to another victim coming forward, the jury heard.
When he was arrested, police found videos relating to nine of the victims as well as a series of intimate photographs taken while the women were unconscious, the court heard.
Zou, who was living in Elephant and Castle in south-east London, denies all 35 charges against him.
He appeared in court wearing a blue suit and was aided by a Mandarin interpreter.
The trial continues.