Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng pleaded guilty today to multiple counts of rape and sexual abuse for assaulting acquaintances and female hospital patients. The defendant – a gastroenterologist – filmed the abuse of his unconscious victims in both his apartment and at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens hospital.

District Attorney Katz said: “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. Following a strong case built by members of my Special Victims Bureau, the defendant admitted guilt in raping unconscious victims in his apartment and sexually abusing sedated patients in the hospital on numerous occasions. I thank the brave victim who initially came forward and exposed this abuse. We hope the guilty plea allows all the victims to continue to heal.”

Cheng, 35, of Broadway in Astoria, pleaded guilty to four counts of rape in the first degree and three counts of sexual abuse in the first degree in satisfaction of the consolidated indictments against him. He additionally entered an Alford plea to one count of sexual abuse. Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant is expected to sentence him to 24 years in prison on August 28.

Cheng has been held without bail since his initial arrest in 2022. His ability to practice medicine has been suspended by the state.

DA Katz said that Cheng was arrested on December 27, 2022, for raping a female acquaintance at his apartment. The woman – Apartment Victim 1 – discovered videos depicting her and other women being assaulted by the doctor. The woman’s attorney approached the Queens District Attorney’s office with this information.

An investigation was launched by the Queens District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, working with New York-Presbyterian Queens where the defendant was employed.

A search warrant executed at Cheng’s home led to the seizure of numerous digital media storage devices that contained videos of him sexually abusing unconscious female hospital patients, as well as Cheng’s female acquaintances. Also seized were quantities of fentanyl, ketamine, cocaine, LSD and MDMA – as well as drugs used in health care settings for sedation, such as propofol and sevoflurane.

Cheng was charged in a 50-count indictment for the crimes in August 2023. He was subsequently indicted on additional charges in March 2024 after another hospital victim came forward.

According to the evidence:

Hospital Victim 1: Cheng recording himself groping the breast and genitals of a 19-year-old sedated female patient at the hospital around June 2021.

Hospital Victim 2: Cheng recorded himself groping the breasts and genitals of a 47-year-old woman who was seriously ill and unconscious around May 2022.

Hospital Victim 3: Cheng recorded himself groping the breasts and genitals of a sedated 37-year-old woman who was a hospital patient sometime between March 2021 and June 2021.

Hospital Victim 4: A 48-year-old woman went to New York-Presbyterian Queens in November 2021 with a condition that required a gastrointestinal procedure. The victim was sedated during the procedure, after which she awoke to find Cheng digitally penetrating her.

Apartment Victim 2: A woman who met Cheng through an online dating site was seen on videos recorded around July 2021 apparently unconscious in Cheng’s bed as he engaged in sexual conduct with her. She appeared to have a tissue over her face in some videos. A brown bottle was seen on the bed similar to the bottle containing the anesthetic sevoflurane that was seized from his home. The woman had no memory of the events.

Apartment Victim 3: A woman who met Cheng through an online dating site in the spring of 2022 was seen on numerous videos in his bedroom. She was apparently unconscious as Cheng engaged in acts of sexual intercourse and other sexual abuse. She had no memory of the events.

Apartment Victim 4: A female acquaintance of Cheng’s, who spent several nights at his apartment from 2020 to 2022, was seen on videos apparently unconscious as Cheng committed acts of sexual intercourse and abuse. Cheng was seen handling a brown bottle similar to the bottle seized from his apartment containing the anesthetic sevoflurane. The woman had no memory of the events.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Brianne Richards, of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, is prosecuting the case with Assistant District Attorney Brian C. Hughes, Deputy Bureau Chief, and Assistant District Attorney Matthew Regan under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Eric C. Rosenbaum, Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Special Prosecutions Joyce Smith.