PhD student tells court he enjoys 'rape role play'

Mr Zou denies drugging and raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023

A Chinese PhD student accused of raping 10 women has told a jury he enjoyed "rape role play".

Zhenhao Zou, 27, who was studying in the UK, denies 11 counts of rape, three of voyeurism, 12 of possession of extreme pornographic images and one of false imprisonment.

Mr Zou said two videos shown at Inner London Crown Court of him having sex with an unidentified woman referred to in the trial as Female A were made after he had discussed his interest with her.

The police do not know the identity of Female A.

Mr Zou told the court he met the woman on a dating app called Soul in April 2022.

He said they met up and had sex at his student accommodation in Bloomsbury, central London.

He said that on the second occasion they met, they had sex again and discussed their sexual preferences. She said she liked uniform role play.

"We specifically discussed the kinds of role play I like, which was rape role play."

He said that was how the videos came to be made.

Mr Zou has taken to the stand to deny all the charges against him

Mr Zou's barrister Mark Cotter KC asked him: "In relation to the videos that you made with Female A - did you ever show those to anybody?"

"No," the defendant replied.

Of the 11 counts of rape Mr Zou is standing trial for, two relate to Female A.

In six of the videos seen by the court, the women have their eyes closed.

Mr Cotter asked: "Why were their eyes closed?"

"I had asked them to do that," Mr Zou replied.

Questioned on why he asked them to close their eyes, he said: "Because I have this kind of preferences. I have sex with them when they seem to be asleep."

Mr Zou said the women had consented to being filmed, having "told them beforehand".

He said he had met the six women, none of whom have been identified by police, on dating apps.

The last woman Mr Zou is accused of raping told the jury it happened at his flat in Elephant and Castle, south London.

She told the trial earlier she had been drunk and he had prevented her from leaving.

Mr Zou said the first time they met at his flat she "suddenly started to ask me about these maths questions and I thought it ruined the atmosphere".

The next time they met was at a friend's party two floors up from his flat.

He said they both had a lot to drink and went back to his flat to drink some more and play games.

Mr Zou said he was unaware that he and the woman were being filmed in his bedroom while the camera was on a bedside table.

He added that the camera could either be started manually or via a motion sensor.

He claimed he had prevented the woman leaving because "her state at that time I didn't think was safe for her or for other people".

Mr Zou denies all 35 charges against him, which also include possession of controlled drugs with intent to rape.

The trial continues.