POLICE have appealed to people living in Northern Ireland who may have been a victim of serial rapist Zhenhao Zou to come forward.
On March 5, the 28-year-old, of Churchyard Row in London’s Elephant and Castle, was found guilty of drugging and raping numerous women both while he lived in the UK and in his native China.
The court heard that the Zou, originally from Dongguan in the Guangdong Province of China, has lived in the UK since 2017.
During that time he met women using online platforms and dating apps, inviting them to his home under the guise of studying or to have drinks.
Once inside he would offer them a drink which contained a substance – believed to be butanediol, which converts to GHB once in the human body.
This would leave his victims drifting in and out of consciousness.
Serial rapist Zhenhao Zou is suspected to have assaulted up to 50 womenWhile unconscious, he filmed himself as he raped and sexually assaulted them.
From 2019, up to his arrest in January 2024, Zou was a student at University College London. Prior to that he studied at Queen’s University Belfast.
Following a five-and-a-half-week trial at Inner London Crown Court, he was convicted of a total of 28 offences, including 11 counts of rape against 10 different women.
He is due to be sentenced on June 19.
After his conviction the Metropolitan Police Force issued an appeal for any further victims to come forward, revealing they believe there to be up to 50 women assaulted by Zou who have noy yet been identified by police.
Since then 23 more women have come forward to police.
Today the PSNI has urged anyone who may have been a victim of Zou’s while he lived in Northern Ireland to come forward.
“The 28-year-old moved to Northern Ireland at the age of 20 to study mechanical engineering at Queens between 2017 and 2019,” they explained in a statement.
“He then returned briefly to his native China due to Covid,” they added.
“In September 2019 he moved to London to do a master’s degree, returning to China periodically.”
Detective Chief Inspector Stephanie Finlay, of the PSNI’s Public Protection Branch, revealed the police force has yet to receive any report relating to Zou while he was living in the North.
“To date we have not received any reports of potential offences committed in Northern Ireland and so we are again appealing for information,” she said.
“We have concerns that many of the victims do not know they are victims,” she explained.
“Zou’s pattern of offending involved him meeting women socially, or through social media, then luring them back to his flat where he would ply them with drink laced with drugs and sexually assault them when they lost consciousness.
“We want to appeal to anybody who met him or in any way was alone with him, where somebody may have been in his accommodation or had an encounter with him that left them feeling uneasy or like something may have happened that they did not consent to.
“Please come forward and report. We will treat you with sensitivity and respect.
“Do not suffer in silence if you have been victimised by this man, we are only interested in ensuring you get the help and support you need, in finding out what may have happened to you and aiding the Met in getting you the justice you deserve.
“We remain in close dialogue with the Met who lead on this investigation and that will continue.”
Reports relating to Zhenhao Zou can be made to the Metropolitan Police Service online via the Major Incident Public Portal (MIPP): www.mipp.police.uk/operation/01MPS25X38-PO1
See More: China, London, Northern Ireland, Serial Rapist, Zhenhao Zou
