A Queens gastroenterologist pleaded guilty to rape and sexual abuse in state court Monday.
The Queens district attorney’s office said Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng groped — and in at least one case digitally penetrated — female hospital patients while they were sedated. One patient was 19 years old.
Prosecutors said Cheng also raped multiple women at his apartment when they were unconscious. They said he recorded the assaults and that law enforcement found the videos when they searched his home.
“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,” Queens DA Melinda Katz said in a statement, adding: “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.”
A judge is expected to sentence Cheng to 24 years in prison later this summer. The state suspended his ability to practice medicine in New York in 2023, according to Department of Health records.
Cheng’s attorney, Jeffrey Einhorn, said his client pleaded guilty to “extraordinarily serious” charges and thanked Katz for considering what he called “significant” mitigating factors in the case.
Cheng joins a growing list of New York doctors to face charges that they sexually abused their patients. Robert Hadden, a former Columbia University gynecologist, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of abusing patients between 1993 and 2012. Urologist Darius Paduch was sentenced to life in prison after a jury convicted him of sexually abusing patients, including some who were minors.
A spokesperson for New York-Presbyterian called Cheng’s actions “heinous, despicable and a fundamental betrayal of our mission and the patients’ trust.”
“We are deeply sorry for all that the victims and their families have endured,” said Angela Karafazli, senior director of media and public relations. “We have continuously worked with law enforcement and with the District Attorney’s office to advance this investigation and see that justice is served.”
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