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Queens doctor charged with recording sex assaults on unconscious patients at New York-Presbyterian, raping women at home

Zhi Alan Cheng, a former doctor at a prominent New York hospital, recorded dozens of videos as he raped and sexually abused women, prosecutors said.
Zhi Alan Cheng was arraigned at criminal court in Queens on Monday, where he was charged with raping and sexually abusing patients and dating partners.Credit...Jefferson Siegel for The New York Times

Zhi Alan Cheng was arraigned at criminal court in Queens on Monday, where he was charged with raping and sexually abusing patients and dating partners.Credit...Jefferson Siegel for The New York Times

A Queens doctor has been charged with sexually assaulting unconscious patients at his hospital, raping three women at his home — and recording the horrific attacks, authorities said Monday.

Zhi Alan Cheng, a gastroenterologist at New York-Presbyterian Queens, is accused of drugging the women he allegedly raped in his apartment.

Cheng is charged with filming his alleged sexual abuse of the hospital patients, all of whom appear to be unconscious in videos recovered from the suspect.

The videos seized from Cheng depict more than six other women being sexually assaulted, including one at New York-Presbyterian Queens, who authorities have yet been able to identify.

“The recovered evidence compiled paints the picture of a sexual predator of the absolute worst kind, a serial rapist, someone willing to not only violate his sacred professional oath and patients’ trust, but every standard of human decency, as well,” Queens DA Melinda Katz said in a statement. “We will present the facts to a jury and achieve justice for the victims of the horrific assaults captured on video.”

Cheng, 33, of Astoria, was indicted by a grand jury and arraigned on 10 counts of predatory sexual assault, three counts of rape, seven counts of sexual abuse and four counts of assault.

He was also charged with eight counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and four counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

If convicted, Cheng faces multiple 25-year-to-life sentences.

While in Cheng’s residence, the first victim came across videos depicting her and other women being assaulted by the doctor, officials said. In December, her attorney approached the Queens District Attorney’s office.

Cheng was arrested that month for raping that women and investigators went to work proving the other cases.

A search warrant executed at Cheng’s home led to the seizure of numerous digital media storage devices containing videos of unconscious female hospital patients, as well as Cheng’s female acquaintances.

Also seized were narcotics, including fentanyl, ketamine, cocaine, LSD and ecstasy, as well as drugs used in health care settings for sedation, such as propofol and sevoflurane.

Evidence against Cheng includes video of a 19-year-old woman taken in June 2021. The woman, scheduled to undergo a test ordered by Cheng, is seen with her gown open, her breasts exposed and her underwear lowered.

Fingers touch her genitals and nipple and then the eyelid on one of her closed eyes. She appears unconscious and has no reaction to what is being done to her.

In another video, taken in May, 2022, a 47-year-old unconscious woman, who was seriously ill, has her breasts and genitals groped, and an ungloved finger is inserted into her mouth. One of her closed eyelids is pulled open.

Officials said at least two of Cheng’s victims were women he met through an online dating site.

One of those women is seen unconscious on Cheng’s bed as the doctor engages in sexual activity with her. She appears to have a tissue over her face in some videos, prosecutors said. A brown bottle is seen on the bed similar to one containing the anesthetic sevoflurane that was seized from his home, officials said.

That woman told authorities she has no memory of the events.

Another online date is seen in numerous videos in Cheng’s bedroom, officials said. She is apparently unconscious as Cheng engages in acts of sexual intercourse and other sexual abuse. She, too, has no memory of the events.

Videos of other women being sexually assaulted were also recovered with the conduct taking place in Cheng’s Queens apartment and in Westchester County, Manhattan, Las Vegas and in and around San Francisco and in Thailand, officials said.

Cheng, who lived alone, was arrested on Dec. 27, 2022 in the lobby of his Astoria apartment. A witness said he was taken into custody by the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit.

“He came down to pick up a package,” the witness said. ”They asked him who he was, and they told him he had to come Downtown to answer questions.”

The witness said Cheng was evicted after the arrest.

“After that, his mom came and cleaned out his stuff,” the witness said.

Author: Editors Desk

Source: NY Daily News:

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