New York – A doctor pleaded guilty on Monday to sexually abuse patients under sedation in his New York hospital and raped women who were unconscious at his home.
Zhi Alan Cheng admitted to having abused seven women, including three patients he treated at New York-Presbyterian Queens hospital, said the district prosecutor’s office.
Cheng, now 35 years old, was arrested in 2022 after a female knowledge discovered a video of him the abuse of his home when she was passed out. The research of his house and his aircraft revealed video evidence of the abusing doctor of women from his home and his workplace, according to the prosecutors. They also discovered liquid anesthesia.
He stayed in prison and was forbidden to practice medicine. Cheng risks up to 24 years in prison during the conviction, prosecutors said.
“The level of violence and perversion displayed by Zhi Alan Cheng by sexually abusing several victims is aggravated by the fact that he was sworn in not to hurt as a health professional,” said district prosecutor Melinda Katz. “I thank the courageous victim who initially manifested and exposed these abuses.”
Prosecutors alleged that Cheng had mistreated an eighth woman who was patient in the hospital. He pleaded in Alford on this accusation, which means that he did not admit his guilt but recognized that the prosecutors had enough evidence to condemn them.
Most of the victims had no memory of the abuses and were under sedation. One of the women woke up in the middle of an assault after being sedia for gastrointestinal procedure, prosecutors said.
The prosecutors said that New York-Presbyterian officials cooperated in the criminal investigation.
“As caregivers, we are responsible for the safety and well-being of our patients. It is a sacred confidence. The crimes committed by this person are odious, despicable and a fundamental betrayal of our mission and the confidence of the patients. We are deeply sorry for all the victims and their families,” said in a declaration from the New York hospital.
Chen’s lawyer Jeffrey Einhorn thanked the prosecutors for the advocacy agreement and said: “The charges Mr. Cheng pleaded guilty today is extremely serious.”
