A PhD student accused of raping 10 women using alcohol and drugs has described his use of pornography and drugs.
Zhenhao Zou began giving evidence during his trial at Inner London Crown Court earlier.
Mr Zou, who denies the charges against him, said his “favourite” pornography involved sleeping women.
He also told the trial that he came into contact with drugs like cocaine and ketamine from parties and going to nightclubs while he was a PhD student at University College London (UCL).
Asked by his lawyer Mark Cotter KC why that type of pornography appealed to him, Mr Zou said: “I like it because the girl appears to be still and quiet when they are having sex.”
Mr Cotter then asked Mr Zou: “What about being asleep?”
The student replied: “Yes, that’s my favourite type. But I could not find that.”
Mr Zou told jurors he came into contact with cocaine, ecstasy tablets and ketamine while socialising in London when he was a student at UCL.
The jury has previously been shown videos the prosecution alleges show Mr Zou having sex with drunk and unconscious women.
At the trial two women have testified that he raped them as they drifted in and out of consciousness.
Mr Zou said told the court he grew up in China and then came to study at university in the UK.
The student moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s University before moving to London in 2019 to do a master’s degree and then a PhD at University College London (UCL).
Mr Zou said he had suffered from “sleeping problems for a long time” since his time in school.
He told jurors: “I had this problem all the time, I also suffered other conditions because of lack of sleep – for example, loss of hair.”
The student told the court he had bought xanax after meeting a drug dealer at a party because he suffered from insomnia.
Mr Zou said he returned to China between March 2020 and July 2021 because of the Covid pandemic.
He said he was online for “a lot of time” during the pandemic, adding “sometimes, a whole day”.
Prosecutors said Mr Zou appears to be “a smart and charming young man” but is in fact “a persistent sexual predator, a voyeur and a rapist”.
He denies 11 charges of raping 10 different women. The trial continues.