A former doctor based in Queens, New York, recently pleaded guilty to multiple sexual abuse charges involving patients and acquaintances at both his home and workplace.
Zhi Alan Cheng, 35, also admitted to filming the assaults, which involved eight victims.
On August 28, Cheng was sentenced to 24 years in prison by the Queens State Superior Court for sexually assaulting multiple patients and partners while working at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Hospital. Upon release, he will be subject to 10 years of supervision and must register as a sex offender for life.
The case began in December 2022, when a female friend reported being sexually assaulted at Cheng’s residence and discovered multiple videos of the assault on his phone. Police later searched his home and recovered numerous recordings showing Cheng sexually assaulting at least eight women over a two-year period, some of whom were anesthetised or unconscious.
On June 30 of this year, Cheng pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree rape and three counts of first-degree sexual assault.
“The level of violence and perversion displayed by Zhi Alan Cheng in sexually abusing multiple victims is compounded by the fact that he took an oath to do no harm as a medical professional,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement.
Cheng’s defense attorney, Jeffrey Einhorn, stated that Cheng had initially faced a longer sentence, but the plea deal now allows him to “start moving forward.”
He acknowledged that some victims were disappointed with the outcome but emphasised that Cheng who had struggled with drug addiction and mental health issues, had worked hard to change, according to reports from World Journal and The New York Times.
However, outside the courtroom, the attorney representing five of the victims criticised the plea agreement, calling it “a failure to achieve justice.”
He argued that the thousands of hours of footage found on Cheng’s phone suggest there may be more victims, but prosecutors failed to press Cheng for information, leaving many women unaware they had been assaulted. He also condemned the prosecutors for “choosing to deal with a sexual predator despite having irrefutable evidence.”
The attorney further questioned NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Hospital’s “unscathed” stance in the case, pointing out that the hospital was aware of complaints but allowed Cheng to continue practicing, even failing to inform patients of potential risks.
