Metropolitan PoliceA serial rapist thought to be “one of the most prolific sex offenders of all time” who drugged, raped and secretly filmed his victims has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 14 years.
Chao Xu, a Chinese national, pleaded guilty to 24 sexual offences, including sexual assault, voyeurism and upskirting against six women between November 2021 and June 2025.
Sentencing Xu at Woolwich Crown Court, Judge Christopher Grout described him as a “sexual predator” and “an incredibly dangerous man”.
One of the women he targeted told the court that she would “never be able to forget” what Xu did to her. Police are appealing for any more of his victims to come forward.
Detectives believe Chao Xu hosted networking events at his flat in south-east London where he spiked and raped women who attended.
They found videos on his devices where he had recorded himself raping women who seemed incapacitated or unconscious.
He set up secret cameras in an air freshener and in a speaker to film people showering, using the toilet, and getting changed.
They found that he had made “compilations” from his voyeuristic activities, editing together recordings of him raping women who were incapacitated.
‘Out of control’
One victim told the court: “I don’t think I will ever be the same person again.
“I am afraid that I will never be able to forget what that man did to me and how he stole the person I was.
“I fear that I may have introduced Xu to other women who may have suffered the same fate as me. I carry that too.
“I felt out of control and so very alone. I have been told that the drugs he used on me are for animals.”
She described how despite being drugged she was conscious enough to what was happening to her.
“The terrifying thing had been that I couldn’t open my eyes and mouth.
“Nor could I move my body. I felt everything that he did, pulling my dress off and touching me intimately. I was horrified.”
“I could just see through my eyes every now and then that he had his phone out. I just couldn’t understand why he was doing that to me.
“He was supposed to be a friend.”
