NYC doctor, 34, who 'filmed himself drugging then raping female patients' is charged with a SEVENTH attack

A New York doctor accused of filming himself drugging, raping and sexually abusing women, including hospital patients, has been indicted on new charges after another alleged victim came forward.

Zhi Alan Cheng, 34, who was handcuffed and dressed in beige jail-issued t-shirt and pants, appeared in Queens Supreme Court on Thursday where he was arraigned for the third time over claims of sexual assault.

The latest charges accuse him of sedating and 'digitally penetrating' a 48-year-old woman, who was scheduled to undergo a gastrointestinal procedure at New York-Presbyterian Queens hospital in November 2021.

He pleaded not guilty to the additional counts of first and second degree sexual abuse and Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant remanded him in jail.

Cheng was hit with 61 charges which relate to sexual assault and unlawful surveillance against six women in August and is accused of assaulting three female hospital patients aged between 19 and 47 from June 2021 to May 2022. 

Zhi Alan Cheng, 34, who was handcuffed and dressed in beige jail-issued t-shirt and pants, appeared in Queens Supreme Court on Thursday where he was arraigned for the third time over claims of sexual assault

The latest charges accuse him of sedating and 'digitally penetrating' a 48-year-old woman, who was scheduled to undergo a gastrointestinal procedure at New York-Presbyterian Queens hospital in November 2021

While four other women have alleged he drugged and sexually abused them in his Queens apartment between 2020 and 2022.

A woman recently came forward to authorities with the allegations that she woke up to find Cheng ‘digitally penetrating her’.

Digital penetration is defined as the use of fingers to sexually penetrate a person's the vagina or anus. 

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Regan told the court the doctor was identified in a photo lineup on February 22.

Melinda Katz, the Queens district attorney, said: ‘What we have heard from the victims and seen in the videos is the shocking and horrifying exploitation of women at their most vulnerable.

‘Taken together, the evidence details the repeated attacks of a sexual predator who time and again betrayed his sworn professional oath and the trust of women who were unable to defend themselves.’

Nicholas Liakas, who represents alleged victims in the case, said: ‘Another victim has come forward, which we anticipated when this first came out.

‘The fear here is there are going to be more victims that come forward throughout the process of this case and we urge them to do so.

‘Back many months ago, one of the first victims was not aware that she had been raped until she was shown a video by the District Attorney’s office and we fear there may be many more like that.

‘The hospital failed on multiple levels. It could have been prevented or once it occurred it could have been investigated properly.

‘Had it been investigated at that point, had he been suspended, had his license been revoked at that point. It would have prevented an additional assault that we know of.’

Cheng’s defense attorney Jeffrey Einhorn said it was still too early to comment on the case.

Pictured: Judge Pandit-Durant in court on Thursday

Cheng, of Broadway in Astoria, has pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces

Cheng attended Albany Medical College in the 2010s before completing his residency at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. He obtained his New York medical license in June 2020

Attorney Nicholas Liakas speaks with media following the hearing on Thursday

District Attorney Katz described Cheng as a 'serial rapist' and a 'sexual predator of the absolute worst kind' when he was arraigned in August.

The sordid allegations came to light after a female acquaintance of Cheng's unearthed the videos, and was appalled to see footage of herself and other women being assaulted by the doctor.

In December 2022, she formally accused Cheng of using a K-N95 mask filled with cotton balls soaked in liquid to knock her out before raping her.

Police began investigating her allegation, and Cheng was arrested and fired from New York Presbyterian Hospital in Queens, Long Island.

Following the alleged attack, Cheng's home was raided and police found drugs including fentanyl, ketamine, LSD and several anesthetics typically used in surgeries, plus devices with dozens of other recordings at his home.

In one case, Cheng is accused of filming himself groping a 37-year-old patient as she lay unconscious at the Queens hospital in 2021.

A woman recently came forward to authorities with the allegations that she woke up to find Cheng ‘digitally penetrating her’

Cheng’s defense attorney Jeffrey Einhorn said it was still too early to comment on the case

A short time later, prosecutors said, he raped a woman whom he met on a dating app and filmed the attack.

In the video, a small brown bottle was visible on his bed, according to the authorities, who said they had recovered a similar bottle from his apartment that contained a powerful anesthetic.

That same year, he is accused of raping a 19-year-old girl who went to the hospital the day before she was scheduled to have her gall bladder removed.

She said Cheng unexpectedly injected her with a substance that made her fall asleep and 'when she woke up [the] doctor was no longer in [the] room'.

The patient said she began experiencing 'extreme pain to [her] lower abdomen.'

She and her mother both feared she could have been sexually assaulted, but she told social workers specializing in sexual assault she did not know what had happened while she was unconscious.

The teenager told hospital authorities, and did not accuse him of rape, but medical staff took the allegation seriously: checking surveillance camera footage and key card access, and staged a line-up in the hospital where she identified Cheng.

The doctor pleaded not guilty. He is pictured previously in court

The fired New York Presbyterian Hospital gastroenterologist looked downcast as he fixed his eyes on the ground during a previous hearing in court

Liakas, the teenager's attorney, said the investigation into the incident ground to a halt, and he has since filed a civil suit against the hospital.

He said it 'conspired to cover up her assault by failing to tell her what had happened, failing to test or treat her for the illegal and dangerous injection of drugs she had been given, and refusing to call the police.'

New York-Presbyterian did not comment on the teenager's allegations but expressed outrage at Cheng’s alleged behavior.

'The crimes committed by this individual are heinous, despicable, and a fundamental betrayal of our mission and our patients' trust. We are appalled and deeply saddened by what these victims and their families have endured,' the statement read.

The hospital said Cheng was fired after New York-Presbyterian learned of the criminal rape indictment.

'In December 2022, as soon as the District Attorney made us aware of allegations of sexual abuse against this individual, he was immediately placed off duty, banned from hospital property, and terminated,' the hospital said.

'We have been fully cooperating with the Queens District Attorney's office, the NYPD, and the NYS Department of Health.'

Cheng went to Albany Medical College in the 2010s and later completed his residency at California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco.

He obtained his New York medical license in June 2020 and worked as a gastroenterologist at New York Presbyterian Queens hospital before he was fired in December 2022 following the allegations.