A Facebook employee is in jail after allegedly raping a friend at knifepoint late last month.

Yue Zhou, 27, was arrested at his home in Palo Alto, California, on Tuesday and charged with rape, sexual battery and false imprisonment.

The alleged victim, a woman in her 20s who is not being identified, came forward to police the day after the incident last month.

She told police that she went out to dinner with Zhou and other friends the night of Friday, June 24, and that she dropped Zhou off at his home after the meal.

Facebook employee Yue Zhou, 27, was arrested on Tuesday at his home in Palo Alto, California, on charges of raping a friend

When she complained about being tired, Zhou invited her in to rest and have a glass of water.

Once inside the residence though, Zhou 'raped her (and) prevented her from leaving by holding a knife,' Palo Alto police said in a statement.

Several hours later, she was able to escape the house on the 4200 block of Wilkie Way and drive away.

'She essentially distracted him momentarily, and she was able to get out the front door to her car,' said Palo Alto Sgt. James Reifschneider.

The female friend told police that Zhou invited her into his home after dinner and then held her at knifepoint and raped her. Zhou pictured above in photos posted to Facebook (left and right)

Zhou, a Chinese national and Columbia University graduate, is being held without bond. He has worked at Facebook as a business analyst since April, according to his profile on the social networking site

The following evening, around 7.30pm, the victim informed Palo Alto Police of the alleged crime and they started their investigation.

Police found enough evidence to arrest Zhou on Tuesday at his home. He was taken into custody around 7.50am without incident.

He is currently being held on $500,000 bail at the Santa Clara County Jail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday.

According to his Facebook profile, Zhou has worked as a business analyst at Facebook since April. The Beijing, China native graduated from Peking University before pursuing a master's degree in management science and engineering from Columbia University in New York.