PHD student drugs and rapes 10 women in England and China

 

PhD student handed life sentence after raping women in England, China

A British judge sentenced Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou to life with a minimum of 24 years in prison for drugging and raping 10 women in England and China.

Zou, 28, was convicted of the attacks, which took place between 2019 and 2023, during a four-week trial earlier this year at Inner London Crown Court.

Judge Rosina Cottage on Thursday described Zou as “very bright young man” who used a manipulative, “charming mask” to hide that he is a “sexual predator.” Cottage told Zou he would serve 22 years and 227 days before he was eligible for parole, according to the London’s Metropolitan Police Service.

A jury found him guilty of 28 offences in total, including counts of voyeurism, possession of an extreme pornographic image, possession of a drug to commit a sexual offence and false imprisonment.

“The lengthy sentence reflects justice for the women who are victim-survivors of Zou and is testament to the extraordinary lengths gone to by investigators, who left no stone unturned in their pursuit to take a dangerous sexual predator off the streets,” Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement.

Zou, who claimed the encounters were consensual, was studying for a PhD in mechanical engineering at University College London in 2023 when the first woman came forward to allege that he had raped her.

As part of the investigation, police seized Zou’s phone, on which they found videos of him raping unconscious women. A search of his apartment in south London turned up sedatives and recording equipment.

Investigators watched hundreds of videos as they built the case of evidence against Zou, which led to the conclusion that he had not only committed offences in London but also in China, according to police.

Police are still investigating Zou’s crimes and at least 24 women have come forward with new allegations as a result of the publicity surrounding his trial.

Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow students of Chinese heritage on dating apps and WeChat, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his apartments in London or an unknown location in China.

According to evidence presented at trial, Zou filmed nine of the attacks as “souvenirs” using hidden or handheld cameras and kept a “trophy box” of his victims’ belongings.

Prosecutor Saira Pike praised the victims who came forward to report Zou’s “horrific crimes.”

“They have been incredibly strong and brave,” Pike said. “There is no doubt that their evidence helped us to secure his conviction, and the life sentence handed to him today.”

Pike referred to Zou as “a serial rapist” and “a danger to women.”

“We have always been determined to seek justice for both the unidentified and identified victims in this case. We used an evidence-led approach that relied on the video recordings of Zou to ensure this dangerous predator faced justice,” Pike added.

“The prosecution team worked with the police for over a year to pick apart an unprecedented amount of footage and web chats showing his meticulous planning and the horrifying execution of his crimes,” she said.

Commander of the Metropolitan Police Service, Kevin Southworth, said that his thoughts “have always been with the courageous victim-survivors of Zou’s heinous and predatory crimes.”

“Thanks to the remarkable efforts of our officers and prosecutors, a dangerous and cowardly offender has been handed a life sentence. I hope the fact Zou can no longer harm others serves as a small amount of comfort to the women who have suffered immeasurably,” Southworth added.

He said that he wanted to “stress that our investigation remains open” and police are continuing to “appeal to anyone 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,” Southworth added.

Police encourage anyone with information about potential crimes relating to Zou to report them online or contact police via phone or email.

—With files from The Associated Press

This Week's Global Pervs and Paedos List > Rio Tinto - racism, bullying, sexual harassment; Child sexploitation increasing; Zemmour advisor accused of rape; Internet ban for Paedos?

..

Rio Tinto lifts lid on culture of sexual harassment & racism

About half of the mining giant’s employees who responded to an external review

say they have been bullied

© Global Look Press / Ernesto Arbitraggio

Anglo-Australian mining multinational Rio Tinto released a shocking report on Tuesday, revealing that racism, sexism, harassment and sexual assault are rife among its global workforce of 47,500.

The report came as a result of an external review that the mining giant commissioned in 2021 after a string of complaints and scandals, including the blowing-up of an ancient Aboriginal site in Western Australia to expand an iron ore mine.

According to the report, nearly half of the company’s employees said they had been bullied, while racism was found to be common across a number of areas. The survey also revealed that “people working in a country different to their birth experienced high rates of racism, and that 39.8% of men and 31.8% of women who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in Australia experienced racism.”

The results were “disturbing,” according to Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm, who said the company would implement all 26 recommendations from the report that was overseen by Australia’s former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.

“The eye-opener for me was twofold,” Stausholm said, as quoted by Reuters. “I hadn’t realised how much bullying exists in the company and secondly that it’s quite systemic – the three issues of bullying, sexual harassment and racism… that’s extremely disturbing.”

Headquartered in London, Rio Tinto employs people in 35 countries. Its workplace review reportedly involved more than 10,000 respondents to an online survey, interactive group and individual sessions, and a call for written entries.

The findings are the latest blow to the corporation that has been trying to repair its image after it demolished a 46,000-year-old sacred Indigenous site in Australia to expand an iron ore mine. In 2020, the backlash over the destruction forced out former CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques.

=====================================================================================

UK kids sexually exploited in ‘degrading & destructive ways’ – report

An inquiry has found children in England and Wales are being sexually exploited amid “extensive failures” by local authorities

© Getty Images

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) warned on Tuesday that “extensive failures” from local authorities and police forces have resulted in them being unable to keep up with the changing ways children are sexually exploited in parts of the UK.

Examining six local authorities across England and Wales, the report outlined how children are being groomed in “new ways” via social media and dating apps, as well as criminals live-streaming abuse of kids and babies for money.

The inquiry looked at the situation in Bristol, Durham, St Helens, Swansea, Tower Hamlets and Warwickshire, hearing evidence from more than 30 children and young people who had suffered abuse between 2003 and 2011.

One victim, who stated that she had been abused at 12, was placed into care but then later returned to “a pattern of repeated self-harm.” 

The report raised concerns about the “flawed assumption” that child sexual exploitation was on the decline, claiming that it was, in fact, more of a “hidden problem” that often goes underreported.

Even when clear evidence exists that harm has occurred, the report outlined how children were often still only being classed as “at risk,” with too many survivors seen as offenders, rather than victims.

The inquiry’s findings, the 18th report into child sex abuse, made a series of recommendations to address the situation, including strengthening the criminal justice system and updating government guidance. The report also called for police forces and local authorities to improve their data collection.

The IICSA’s inquiry into child sexual abuse was launched by then-Home Secretary Theresa May to explore how councils, schools, religions groups and other organizations handled abuse claims when they were reported.

I'm inclined to believe that they are just scratching the surface. Interviewing survivors from more than 10 years ago gives no insight into the latest trends. Every new social media platform that is invented is mastered by paedophiles long before any other demographic. They are there waiting for our children. The law has to get serious about internet use and abuse.

Presidential candidate’s adviser accused of raping male teen intern

Events director of France’s Eric Zemmour has called allegations

a 'slanderous denunciation'

© JOEL SAGET / AFP

A senior adviser to the French far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour has been accused of raping a teenage male intern. He vehemently denies the allegation.

According to France Info, referring to a source close to the case, a complaint against Olivier Ubéda was filed by an 18-year-old man on December 9. The Paris prosecutor’s office launched an investigation the next day and since then several witness hearings have already taken place.

BFMTV’s sources have indicated that an alleged forced sexual relationship began in spring 2021 and continued until autumn. According to their information, the teen accused Ubéda, in particular, of forcing him to perform oral sex.

Ubéda, who is Zemmour’s events director and previously worked for the presidential campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy, has called the allegations “slanderous denunciation.”

“I will only react when I know what and who we are talking about,” he said on Twitter, adding that he is meeting an investigating officer on Tuesday.

“Sometimes #MeToo is just a mytho,” he noted, referring to a popular movement against sexual abuse.

In a separate post, he claimed that rape allegations have become the latest in a series of issues he faced since he started working for Zemmour. His wife Anne Gaudin-Ubéda was dismissed from her position as the cabinet director of the Creuse Department Council’s president, and he accused the tax authorities of becoming “overzealous.”

“You are accused of rape… just that. The scenario is well written. It’s not based on anything real. The media love it. Aiming to break what works. To bedraggle not to let go. To vomit. Who is fooled? Who’s next?” he wrote.

The scandal comes soon after Ubéda’s boss Zemmour, known for his nationalist and far-right views, was fined €10,000 for his remarks on unaccompanied migrant minors, whom he described as “thieves,” “murderers” and “rapists.”

Pedophile internet ban proposed in Russia

The Russian MP mooted the measure following a law change allowing for

life imprisonment of repeat offenders

By Layla Guest

© Getty Images / Darrin Klimek

With Russian lawmakers backing stringent new measures designed to protect minors from recidivist sexual abusers, the vice speaker of the country’s State Duma has proposed a total internet blackout for pedophiles aimed at stopping predators in their tracks.

Speaking to RT’s YouTube channel on Monday, Anna Kuznetsova floated the idea, arguing that the web “is also a potential tool for committing crime.”

“Therefore, we need to limit and completely ban their access to the internet,” she suggested, noting that there has been a 6% increase in the number of repeat offenders in the country. “Behind each percentage point is a child’s ruined life,” she said.

Way more than just one!

According to the politician, who previously served as the Children’s Rights Commissioner, a whole set of measures should be imposed on pedophiles, including lifetime administrative supervision.

“It is unacceptable that one can get away with a fine for crimes of this nature,” Kuznetsova stressed.

Her remarks follow shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that could see repeat pedophiles locked up without the prospect of release for the rest of their lives. Under the new legislation, jail sentences will be handed down to recidivist pedophiles who abuse minors, cases where two or more children under the age of 18 were abused, or situations where the act involved committing another serious or particularly grave crime.

The law was adopted in its first reading in December, with Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin commenting on social media that “a life sentence is a just measure to isolate the degenerates. They cannot be called humans, although they are in human form.”

The bill on life imprisonment for those previously convicted of raping minors was submitted to the State Duma in September last year, following a spate of high-profile crimes across the country. That month, in the Kemerovo Region, a previously convicted pedophile, Viktor Pesternikov, raped and killed two 10-year-old school girls.

Peace Tour Ends With Woman Raped and Murdered

New York Times, 2008

Pippa Bacca in Istanbul a few days before she was killed. Ms. Bacca and Silvia Moro were stressing the need for global harmony. Credit Sirio Magnabosco

MILAN — The two friends, both performance artists, hatched the idea about a year ago: wearing white wedding dresses, they would hitchhike from Italy to the Balkans to the Middle East to send a message of peace and “marriage between different peoples and nations.”

But the message delivered by their performance piece was mostly sad and raw. After just three weeks on the road, one of the two Italian artists, Pippa Bacca, 33, was raped and killed by a driver who offered her a ride.

Her naked body was found on April 11 in some bushes near a Turkish village after a suspect led investigators to the site. Although an official cause of death has not been given, local Turkish authorities said Ms. Bacca had been raped and strangled.

The killing has stirred broad public anger and grief in Turkey and Italy. Still, what Ms. Bacca would have wanted, her family and friends said, was her message of peace to live on.

“She thought that in the world there were more positive than negative people, and that it was right to be trusting,” said Rosalia Pasqualino, a sister of Ms. Bacca, whose real name was Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo. “Trust is a very human factor, and she believed that to understand people, you had to get to know them.”

“The family wanted to remember her in a joyous manner,” said Silvia Moro, 37, the artist who set out with Ms. Bacca on the trip, billed as “Brides on Tour,” on March 8. She said she last saw her friend on March 19 in Istanbul, where the two split up and agreed to rejoin each other in Beirut.

The performance piece, a trip through nearly a dozen countries in the Balkans and the Middle East, many of them ravaged by war recently, was meant to underscore that “by overcoming differences and lowering the level of conflict,” individuals and cultures could come together, Ms. Moro said in a telephone interview. “Meeting people was the key.”

It's a great ideal, but this is not an ideal world!

Ms. Bacca’s trip was cut short near the village of Gebze, about 40 miles southeast of Istanbul. An unemployed man, Murat Karatas, 38, has confessed to killing her shortly after picking her up on March 31, the authorities have said.

Pippa Bacca on her “Brides on Tour”
project for peace. Credit FotoUp

Accepting rides with strangers was crucial to the art performance’s success, Ms. Moro said. The artists’ statement at their Web site, bridesontour.fotoup.net, says, “Hitchhiking is choosing to have faith in other human beings, and man, like a small god, rewards those who have faith in him.”

That's a nice ideal too, but completely unrealistic. 

Italian and Turkish government officials immediately emphasized that the killing had been a cruel act by a possibly deranged person and could have happened almost anywhere.

“Just read any newspaper — people get killed for playing music too loudly, and women get raped in the subway; there are fiends everywhere,” Ms. Pasqualino said. “This was not a question of Turkey or of religion.”

It could have happened anywhere, but it happened in Turkey and was committed by a Muslim. Pippa was an infidel in a Muslim state. What he did may not have even contravened the Quran - "She who is in your right hand, do with her what you wish", Mohammed.


Update:
Hurriyet Daily News 2012


This file photo shows Italian artist Pippa Bacca during a visit to the Grand Bazaar. Hürriyet photo

The Court of Appeals has upheld a life sentence for a Turkish man found guilty of the 2008 rape and murder of Italian artist and peace activist Pippa Bacca, noting that he was detached from human values and felt no remorse for his deeds, Anatolia news agency reported yesterday.

The Court’s First Chamber, which handled the case, rejected objections from the defense that the victim had engaged in consensual sex with the man found guilty of her rape and murder, 42-year-old Murat Karataş, and that the lower court’s ruling was based on an incomplete assessment of the case. The court found that Karataş did not express any true remorse for the crime (after all, she was just an infidel) and failed to cooperate with the investigation, pointing especially to the facts that the assailant was captured after he took Bacca’s mobile phone and used it following the murder, and he refused to shed any light on the identity of a second man whose sperm was found on the victim’s clothes.

Pippa Bacca was the pseudonym of 33-year-old painter Giuseppina Pasqualina di Marineo. When she was killed she had been on a hitchhiking trip with a friend from Italy to Israel as part of their “Brides on Tour” project, a plea for peace in areas of conflict. She went missing in April 2008 after separating from her friend with plans to meet later in Beirut. Her naked body was found in a forest near the town of Gebze.


The murder caused a huge public outcry and a great deal of soul-searching in Turkey. Since then, many commemorations and cultural activities, including a documentary film, have been dedicated to Bacca.

Does anyone remember seeing this in the media when it happened?