An engineering student accused of drugging and raping women has said he took drugs and viewed pornography, with his favourite scenes involving sleeping women.
Zhenhao Zou, 27, is accused of raping 10 women and filming his attacks. He denies all the charges.
Giving evidence in his own defence, he said he was “in the habit” of taking consensual pictures of his sexual activity.
Questioned about video material he watched, the PhD student at University College London said he liked “time stop” pornography, in which “the females are passive and unresponsive during sex”, according to a definition agreed by the defence and prosecution.
His barrister, Mark Cotter KC, asked why he preferred that type of sexually explicit material, to which Zou replied: “I like it because the girl appears to be still and quiet when they are having sex.”
Cotter then asked Zou: “What about being asleep?”
He replied: “Yes, that’s my favourite type. But I could not find that.”
Zou is on trial at Inner London crown court and the jury heard he had grown up in China. When he came to London to study he came into contact, the court heard, with drugs including ketamine, cocaine and ecstasy.
After his arrest in January 2024 Zou told police he used the drug butanediol as a moisturiser, but now claims he put it in his drink to get high. He said that after his arrest he did not want police to think he was a drug user.
The prosecution said it was one of a series of drugs found when his home was raided and searched, which Zou used to stupefy and subdue women so he could carry out his attacks.
He denies attacks on three women in London and seven in China from 2019-23.
After his arrest, Zou told police: “Firstly, I wish to say that reference has been made to pictures retrieved from my mobile phones, however I have not seen these and I do not recall when and where I took them.
“I can say, however, that I am in the habit of taking pictures of my sexual activity with my sexual partners. The pictures are only taken with her consent and agreement.
“As to the allegation of rape, I deny having sexual intercourse with a partner without her consent and I always believed she consented to it.”
The engineering student told the jury he did not know how many houses his parents had in China. His father worked in a state-owned enterprise and his mother was a teacher.
He said he had insomnia, which caused his hair to fall out. He had a number of cosmetic procedures, including a hair transplant and work on his eyelids and chin.
He gave evidence with the help of an interpreter, speaking in Mandarin.
Zou denies 11 counts of rape as well as three counts of voyeurism, 12 counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and eight of having a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence.
The prosecution said Zou seemed charming and smart but was in fact a “predator, voyeur and rapist” who ignored pleas from his victims to stop.
Zou, who grew up in Guangdong province, will continue giving evidence in his own defence on Tuesday and the trial continues.
Source: theguardian.com
