Zhi Cheng, the Queens physician convicted, following a responsible plea, of drugging a number of girls and recording movies as he raped or sexually abused them, was sentenced to 2 dozen years behind bars Thursday.
“I want to apologize to the victims for my heinous crimes and I will spend the rest of my life atoning for them,” Cheng instructed the Court docket.
However a number of of the physician’s victims – together with girls who had been sexually violated in hospital examination rooms – criticize the plea deal, which permits Cheng to keep away from essentially the most critical counts he confronted — predatory intercourse assault — a cost that carries a most of life in jail upon conviction.
“Dr. Cheng is getting a sweetheart deal,” wrote one sufferer in her affect assertion to the court docket. “Dr. Cheng is a sexual predator in a white coat.”
Supreme Court docket Choose Ushir Pandit-Durant accredited the plea deal, regardless of a letter from 4 of Cheng’s survivors urging her to reject it.
In her feedback from the bench, the choose acknowledged that Cheng would probably have been convicted and despatched to jail for a lot of extra years if the case had gone to trial, however she stated there was advantage in sparing victims the ache of reliving their intercourse crimes.
“While I don’t believe that 24 years is enough for the crimes that you’ve committed, I understand the balancing with victims who would suffer again, should there be a trial,”Choose Pandit-Durant stated. “You would be convicted at that trial, I have no doubt. With the evidence that is here in this case, you would get maybe over 100 years in jail.”
Nicholas Liakas, an legal professional for the 4 survivors who opposed the plea deal, stated that his shoppers had been greater than keen to testify in open court docket and argued the video proof towards Cheng was so overwhelming that there was no good motive to grant the physician a deal.
“This tells everyone in Queens and anyone who’s listening that there is always a deal to be made in this DA’s office, no matter how good the evidence is,” LIakas stated.
Queens Senior Assistant District Legal professional Brianne Richards stated all eight of the intercourse crime survivors within the indictment initially agreed with the plea deal.
“Any suggestion that the disposition of this case was not discussed with each survivor prior to the plea is simply false,” Richards instructed the court docket. “In fact, no survivor expressed concern or disappointment with the disposition.”
However a few of Cheng’s victims say Queens prosecutors missed a possibility to pressure the physician to inform what he is aware of about different movies of alleged intercourse crimes reportedly extracted from his digital gadgets.
When the fees had been initially introduced, Queens District Legal professional Melinda Katz stated her workforce recovered movies that present Cheng committing intercourse crimes towards unidentified girls in different jurisdictions, together with Manhattan, Westchester County, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and even Thailand.
“We only know of eight victims. Unfortunately, I believe there might be many, many more out there who may not even know they’ve been victimized,” stated Choose Pandit-Durant.
Jeffrey Einhorn, Cheng’s protection legal professional, stated his shopper absolutely cooperated with prosecutors. However neither he nor the DA’s workplace would reply particular questions on whether or not Cheng recognized any of the opposite alleged victims depicted on movies recovered from his residence.
“We’ve already had the opportunity to meet with the district attorney’s office and he’s given them everything about them,” Einhorn stated, referring to the movies.
Cheng has misplaced his license to follow drugs in New York and after his launch from jail, he’ll be on supervised launch for a decade. He’ll additionally need to register as a intercourse offender.
A few of Cheng’s victims at the moment are suing NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Queens, alleging the medical facility was negligent in permitting Cheng entry to sedatives used to facilitate his intercourse crimes.
Brendan Brosh, a Queens district legal professional spokesperson, recommended the explanation some victims oppose the plea deal is as a result of they needed to place the hospital on trial together with Cheng.
“While we are aware that there are lawsuits related to this case, as prosecutors, our job is to achieve justice in criminal court. Civil courts exist to address any issues that are not under our purview,” Brosh wrote in an announcement launched after sentencing.
A spokesperson for NewYork-Presbyterian additionally launched an announcement Thursday, saying the hospital has cooperated with regulation enforcement and apologized to survivors of Cheng’s intercourse crimes.
“The crimes committed by this individual are heinous, despicable, and a fundamental betrayal of our mission and the patients’ trust,” the hospital assertion stated. “We are deeply sorry for all that the victims and their families have endured.”
