LONDON — A Chinese PhD student named by police as "one of the most prolific predators" in the UK has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 24 years.

Zhenhao Zou, a Chinese national, drugged and raped three women in London and another seven in China between September 2019 and May 2023.

Three of the 10 victims have been identified, prosecutors say, but Metropolitan Police detectives fear he could have targeted dozens more and have appealed for potential victims to contact them. Since the trial, 24 women have come forward.

During sentencing, Judge Rosina Cottage KC said the defendant was a "very bright young man" who used a manipulative "charming mask" to hide that he was a "sexual predator".

At the sentencing hearing at Inner London Crown Court, Judge Cottage told Zou: "You appear to the world to be a very well-to-do man. You are also a sexual predator."

She said Zou had "planned and executed a campaign of rape", treating the women "callously" and as "sex toys" for his own pleasure, which had had "devastating and long-term effects".

Judge Cottage added Zou had a "sexual interest" in "asserting power and control over women", and that the victims had been "pieces in an elaborate game" for the defendant, who had "no understanding of the meaning of consent". — BBC