Latest news with #PhDStudent
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Serial rapist who drugged and filmed at least 10 women is jailed
Zhenhao Zou, a 28-year-old PhD student, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years for drugging and raping 10 women in London and China. Zou filmed his attacks on unconscious victims and kept a 'trophy box' of their belongings; only two of the 10 identified victims have been traced. He was convicted of 11 counts of rape, three counts of voyeurism, and other related offences after a month-long trial. Zou, described as a 'sexual predator,' used WeChat and dating apps to befriend fellow students, inviting them to his flat where he would drug and assault them. Since his conviction, 24 women have contacted the Metropolitan Police, believing they may also have been victims of Zou.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Drug-rape PhD student Zhenhao Zou jailed for minimum of 24 years
A PhD student convicted of raping and drugging 10 women in London and China has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 24 Zou, a Chinese national, raped three women in London and another seven in China between September 2019 and May 2023. He kept a trophy box of women's belongings and filmed nine of the rapes on women as they lost consciousness. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Chinese PhD student jailed for life with minimum term of 24 years after drugging and raping 10 women
A Chinese PhD student has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years for drugging and raping 10 women. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted of the harrowing attacks involving two women who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced. He kept a trophy box of women's belongings and filmed nine of the attacks, with jurors in the case forced to watch the disturbing footage.
Sky News
2 days ago
- Sky News
Zhenhao Zou: Student who drugged and raped 10 women in London and China jailed for life
A Chinese PhD student found guilty of drugging and raping 10 women has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted of multiple sexual assaults on women in the UK and China in March, where he used drugs to incapacitate his victims before raping them. The trial at Inner London Crown Court heard how he used the drug butanediol to render his victims unconscious, and how he used hidden cameras to record nine of his assaults. 3:16 Jurors found him guilty of 11 counts of rape against 10 women between 2019 and 2023. Three of these women were raped in London and seven in China. Only two of his victims were identified during the trial. Since his conviction, police have now identified one of the other victims involved in this case. The prosecution said Zou embarked on a "campaign of offending of the utmost gravity". He targeted young Chinese women, inviting them to his flat for drinks or to study before he drugged and assaulted them. Zou used hidden cameras or his mobile phone to record the attacks, keeping the footage and sometimes the women's belongings as souvenirs. Officers discovered nearly 1,300 videos in one of the biggest cases the Met's digital forensics lab has ever dealt with. The rape material the jury had to watch was so graphic that jurors have been excused from jury service for two decades. During the sentencing hearing, the victim impact statements of three women were read out. The first said she'd woken up to find the former PhD student raping her in 2021. She said it happened while "unconscious" after being out drinking for four or five hours with friends in London's Chinatown. The woman said: "That moment will clearly stay in my mind forever. As a result, I now experience severe physical and psychological distress. The memories trigger migraines, physical pain in the places he violated, and an overwhelming urge to scrub myself clean. "To this day, I struggle to trust anyone. I avoid new friendships, trapped in the aftermath of what he did." The second victim was raped while "drunk and unconscious" at Zou's flat in London's Elephant and Castle in May 2023. Zou filmed the attack and took intimate images without her knowledge using a small camera by the bed. "No matter what I did, I could not sleep; whenever I closed my eyes, the events of what happened to me kept replaying in my mind," she said in her statement, outlining her "mental agony and pain". "I am not sure anything will help what I have gone through. The only thing I want him to know is that if he does this again, I will do everything in my power to send him back to prison." The third woman was unidentified during the trial until she came forward as part of the police appeal. This woman was raped at an unknown location in China, and Zou filmed her rape while she was unconscious. She told the court: "When I recently saw that face again in the news reports, my trembling body reacted faster than my conscious mind. Now insomnia and anxiety rage anew. "Reliving this feels like I'm being forced to watch my past self endure repeated violations." Zou is currently at the heart of the UK's largest rape investigation. Following Zou's conviction, investigators shared that they believed Zou's offending was on a much larger scale than the 11 rape convictions. Metropolitan Police detectives believe Zou could be the "most substantial and prolific offender we've come across in recent times". Officers believe more than 50 other women could also be victims of Zou, which would make him one of the worst sex offenders the UK has ever seen. Investigators have further video material showing unidentified women being attacked, and police believe around 25 of those incidents happened in the UK and 25 in China. An international appeal was launched for these women to come forward, resulting in 24 reporting that they may have been raped by Zou. It's understood that some of these women form part of the 50 additional women that police say have also been targeted by the former University College London student. Police are particularly keen to hear from women from the Chinese student community who may have met Zou and were living in and around London between 2019 and 2024. Following the sentencing, the Metropolitan Police said the reports made by 24 women "continue to be investigated thoroughly by a dedicated team of officers" and the force "will continue to liaise with the Crown Prosecution Service around potential future charges". 0:46 Commander Kevin Southworth said: "First and foremost, our thoughts have always been with the courageous victim-survivors of Zou's heinous and predatory crimes." He added: "I hope the fact Zou can no longer harm others serves as a small amount of comfort to the women who have suffered immeasurably. "I would also like to take this opportunity to stress that our investigation remains open and we continue to appeal to anyone who may think they have been a victim of Zou. Please come forward and speak with our team - we will treat you with empathy, kindness and respect." Zou first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen's University before moving to London in 2019. He then studied for a Master's degree at University College London from 2019 to 2021, followed by a PhD at the same university from 2021. Police say "investigators have not received any reports from women who met Zou while he was living in Belfast but remain in contact with Police Service Northern Ireland", but that anyone with concerns should come forward.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
United States resumes foreign students' visa process but only if they unlock social media
The United States will restart its student visa application process for foreigners, but all applicants will now be required to make their social media accounts public for government review, the State Department said Wednesday. Consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles, the department said. In a notice made public on Wednesday, the department confirmed it had revoked its May suspension of student visa processing. However, it said new applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts to 'public' and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected. A refusal to do so could be a sign they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity, the department said. June 2025: Trump suspends new Chinese and other foreign student visas at Harvard The Trump administration temporarily halted scheduling new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the US last month while preparing to expand the screening of their social media activity, officials said. Students around the world had been anxiously waiting for US consulates to reopen visa interview appointments as the window to book their travels and make housing arrangements narrowed ahead of the start of the school year. On Wednesday afternoon, a 27-year-old PhD student in Toronto secured an appointment for a visa interview next week. The student, a Chinese national, hoped to travel to the United States for a research internship that would begin in late July. Graduating students attend Columbia University's commencement ceremony. Foreign students make up more than 15 per cent of the total student body at nearly 200 US universities, according to an Associated Press report. Photo: Reuters 'I'm really relieved,' said the student, who spoke on condition of being identified only by his surname, Chen, because he was concerned about being targeted. 'I've been refreshing the website a couple of times every day.' Students from China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines have posted on social media sites that they have been monitoring visa booking websites and closely watching State Department press briefings to get any indication of when appointment scheduling might resume. In reopening the visa process, the State Department also told consulates to prioritise students hoping to enrol at colleges where foreigners make up less than 15 per cent of the student body, a US official familiar with the matter said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to detail information that has not been made public. May 2025: Trump administration removes Harvard's ability to enrol international students Foreign students make up more than 15 per cent of the total student body at nearly 200 US universities, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal education data from 2023. Most are private universities, including all eight Ivy League schools. But that criterion also includes 26 public universities, including the University of Illinois and Pennsylvania State University. Looking only at undergraduate students, foreign students make up more than 15 per cent of the population at about 100 universities, almost all of them private. International students in the US have been facing increased scrutiny on several fronts. In the spring, the Trump administration revoked permission to study in the US for thousands of students, including some involved only in traffic offences, before abruptly reversing course. The government also expanded the grounds on which the legal status of foreign students can be terminated. More than 1,000 international students in the US have had their visas or legal status revoked As part of a pressure campaign targeting Harvard University, the Trump administration has moved to block foreign students from attending the Ivy League school. International students account for a quarter of the university's enrolment, which relies on the group's tuition dollars. Trump has said Harvard should cap its foreign enrolment at 15 per cent. This latest move to vet students' social media, the State Department said Wednesday, 'will ensure we are properly screening every single person attempting to visit our country'. In internal guidance sent to consular officers, the department said they should be looking for 'any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States'. Trump has signed a proclamation banning individuals from 12 countries from entering the US, reinstating one of the most controversial measures from his first term. via AFP Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said the new policy evokes the ideological vetting of the Cold War when prominent artists and intellectuals were excluded from the United States. 'This policy makes a censor of every consular officer, and it will inevitably chill legitimate political speech both inside and outside the United States,' Jaffer said. Trump signs US travel ban targeting 12 nations while limiting entry for 7 others The Trump administration has also called on 36 countries to commit to improving the vetting of travellers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. A weekend diplomatic cable sent by the State Department said the countries have 60 days to address US concerns or risk being added to a travel ban that now includes 12 nations.
