A man facing multiple rape charges allegedly assaulted a woman while she was drifting in and out of consciousness, as revealed in court proceedings.
Zhenhao Zou, a 27-year-old Chinese national studying in the UK, pleads not guilty to 11 counts of rape, three counts of voyeurism, 12 counts of possessing extreme pornographic images, and one count of false imprisonment.
During the session at Inner London Crown Court, a police interview was presented in which the complainant claimed she was raped.
In the interview, she recounted that Mr. Zou remarked afterwards: “I believed you were conscious. I thought you were aware of what you were doing.”
The jury was informed that the alleged victim would provide her testimony through a video link from China on Monday morning.
She mentioned that she first met Mr. Zou at a friend’s dinner party in September 2021, where they engaged in consensual sex in his room at a shared house.
About a month later, she organized a birthday celebration and invited a group of friends to a hotpot restaurant in Chinatown named Hai Di Lao, where she also invited Mr. Zou, whom she referred to as Pakho.
Following their meal, the group spent four to five hours drinking Jack Daniel’s whiskey at a nearby restaurant.
At the end of the night, she recalled being sick on a nearby street. She remembered nothing further until waking up to find Mr. Zou having sexual intercourse with her, as the court was informed.
The victim stated that she told him “no,” but then lost consciousness again.
She exited his student accommodation at 7:00 AM the following morning, according to jurors.
Later, she sent him a message on WeChat, a Chinese messaging platform.
“I asked him, ‘How could you do this to me?'” she reported to the police.
His response was, “I thought you were conscious. I believed you knew what you were doing.”
She clarified: “But I am certain that at that moment, I did not consent to him having sex with me because I was feeling terrible. I was intoxicated.”
The alleged victim added that she was still quite drunk when she left the next morning.
Several months later, she discovered that another Chinese woman had shared a post on the social media platform Red Book, featuring a photograph of Mr. Zou, stating that he had sex with her while she was drunk. This woman described Mr. Zou as a PhD student who wears a green Rolex watch.
The alleged victim reached out to this woman, who then connected her with the police.
Zhenhao Zou is on trial for the alleged rapes of two women. While two victims have been identified by authorities, the identities of the other eight accused victims remain unknown.
In addition to the rape charges, Mr. Zou also faces eight counts of possessing a controlled substance with intent to supply.
The trial is ongoing.
