What you should know
- The latest allegations, contained in a third indictment against Cheng, involve a 48-year-old woman who says that, in November 2021, she was sedated for a colonoscopy inside New York’s Queens Presbyterian Hospital only to wake up to find Cheng abusing her. sexually from her.
- In an exclusive interview with the Telemundo 47 Investiga team and the NBC 4 New York I-Team last fall, this latest alleged victim said she tried to push memories of the incident to the back of her mind, but after seeing the news coverage decided to tell authorities about Dr. Cheng’s first two allegations.
- The woman’s attorney, Nicholas Liakas, filed a lawsuit on behalf of her and several other women who say New York Presbyterian failed to act on clear warning signs that Dr. Cheng’s behavior was predatory.
NEW YORK — Queens prosecutors have added more alleged sex crimes to an already long list of charges facing gastroenterologist Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng.
The latest allegations, contained in a third indictment against Cheng, involve a 48-year-old woman who says that, in November 2021, she was sedated for a colonoscopy inside New York’s Queens Presbyterian Hospital only to wake up to find Cheng abusing her. sexually from her.
In an exclusive interview with the Telemundo 47 Investiga team and the NBC 4 New York I-Team last fall, this latest alleged victim said she tried to push memories of the incident to the back of her mind, but after seeing the news coverage decided to tell authorities about Dr. Cheng’s first two allegations.
“I was in the recovery area with the curtains closed and Dr. Cheng was doing a vaginal exam on me,” she said. “I myself know that gastro and gynecology do not go together.”
The woman’s attorney, Nicholas Liakas, filed a lawsuit on behalf of her and several other women who say New York Presbyterian failed to act on clear warning signs that Dr. Cheng’s behavior was predatory.
“The hospital failed on multiple levels, period,” Liakas said.
In particular, he pointed to an incident during the summer of 2021 in which a 19-year-old patient of Dr. Cheng’s said she requested a hospital investigation after being sedated with an unknown substance and waking up with severe pain in her lower abdomen. . After that episode, Cheng continued practicing in the hospital. The district attorney would later accuse Cheng of raping that patient while she recorded a video of the crime with a cell phone inside a hospital exam room.
“If it had been properly investigated at that time, if he had been suspended, if his license had been revoked at that time, an additional assault would have been prevented, as far as we know,” Liakas said.
In response to the latest allegation against Cheng, NewYork-Presbyterian issued a statement saying:
“The crimes detailed in these additional charges are horrific and we are deeply sorry for everything the victims and their families have endured. We have continued to work with the District Attorney to advance the investigation and ensure justice is served.”
The hospital says it fired Cheng after learning of the criminal case against him.
Cheng now faces more than 60 charges of sexual crimes. She pleaded not guilty to each of them and her attorney declined to comment on the allegations. Cheng is being held at Rikers Island without bail.
In a statement released Thursday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called Dr. Cheng a predator and urged other women to contact her office’s Special Victims Bureau if they believe they may have been victims of the gastroenterologist.
“What we have heard from victims and seen in the videos is the shocking and horrifying exploitation of women in their most vulnerable moments,” Katz said. “Taken together, the evidence details the repeated attacks of a sexual predator who time and again betrayed his professional oath and the trust of women who were unable to defend themselves.”
You can contact the Special Victims Office by calling 718-286-6505 or emailing SpecialVictims@queensda.org.
2024-03-15 04:19:24
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