A Chinese doctoral student in the United States has been charged with multiple counts of drugging and sexually assaulting women over a three-year period, according to prosecutors. The announcement came on Wednesday from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Sizhe “Steven” Weng, a 30-year-old Chinese national attending the University of Southern California (USC), is facing serious felony charges. Prosecutors claim he administered incapacitating drugs to his victims through food or drinks, subsequently assaulting them between 2021 and 2024. The charges against him include eight felonies, such as forcible rape, rape and sodomy using controlled substances, and sexual penetration involving anesthesia or drugs.
The investigation into Weng began in January after German authorities alerted Los Angeles police with suspicions that he might be linked to similar crimes in Germany. This information, reported by the Los Angeles Times, prompted the Los Angeles police to delve deeper into these allegations.
Following these international leads, Weng was apprehended on August 28. LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton described Weng as an “opportunist,” who allegedly exploited situations to drug and assault his victims.
Los Angeles police told reporters they were first tipped off to Weng in January by German police, who said they believed he could be the man behind a string of similar assaults in the European country, the Los Angeles Times reported.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said that authorities believe that Weng was an “opportunist” who drugged his victims before allegedly sexually assaulting them.
“Evidence was recovered at Weng’s residence that corroborated his involvement in drug-facilitated sexual assaults of multiple victims dating back to 2021 and continuing into 2025,” he said.
Weng was arrested Aug. 28 and pleaded not guilty at a Sept. 2 arraignment, court records show. He is being held without bail pending a preliminary hearing set for Jan. 14, 2026, at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles. Prosecutors said three women have been identified so far, but investigators believe there may be additional victims.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said that authorities believe that Sizhe Weng was an “opportunist” who took advantage of women. (KTTV / FOX 11)
“If convicted as charged, the defendant faces 25 years to life plus 56 years in state prison and would be required to register as a sex offender for life,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “We are asking any other possible victims to come forward.”
The LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division is handling the investigation.
A USC spokesperson said the university is cooperating fully with law enforcement and that Weng “has been barred from campus” during the ongoing investigation. The DA’s office urged anyone with information to call detectives at 213-486-6890.
In this March 12, 2019, file photo, people walk in the University Village area of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. (Associated Press)
“No one should ever have to endure the trauma of being drugged, sexually assaulted and stripped of their ability to consent,” Hochman said in a statement.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office for comment.
