Introduction to the Case

While pursuing his Ph.D in electrical engineering at USC, Sizhe Wang maintained ties with female friends, including a fellow graduate student and two women from back home in China.

The Crimes

On outings that started innocently — a trip to San Diego, a ride from the airport, a shared meal — Weng drugged the women, first with powder in their drinks or food and then with syringes and tubing in their anuses, before sexually assaulting them and photographing them, according to a prosecutor’s motion.
He tied up two of the women with straps and manipulated their bodies into sexually suggestive poses, the motion said.

Investigation and Arrest

After his Aug. 28 arrest, Weng described the assaults on the three victims “at length and in detail” to Los Angeles Police Department detectives, according to the Sept. 2 motion by L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Catherine Mariano, who argued that he should be held without bail.
Investigators overheard Weng saying in his jail cell, which contained recording equipment, that he would return to China if he made bail, the motion said. China has no extradition treaty with the U.S.

Evidence Found

At Weng’s residence, the motion said, investigators found sexually explicit Polaroid images of the three victims and a medicine bottle with liquid that tested positive for midazolam, typically used for sedation in minor medical procedures, which Weng allegedly injected into the women’s anuses.
The investigators found several pinhole and snake cameras, as well as flash memory cards and electronic devices “believed to contain additional images and/or videos of defendant drugging and sexually assaulting women.” They also found leather straps, syringes, red tubing and dental mouth devices, the motion said.
To sedate his victims, Weng acquired drugs typically used by medical professionals from a supplier in Germany, according to the motion.

The Victims

The sexual assaults occurred on Dec. 10, 2021, Aug. 1, 2022 and over a period in 2023 and 2024, according to court records. But Weng, who also goes by Steve, did not come to the attention of the LAPD until January, when German authorities reached out about his involvement in a sex crimes and drugs investigation there, said LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton, who oversees the detective bureau.
“As soon as we became aware of actionable information, we opened an investigation,” Hamilton said. “It took us a while to catch up to all the activities this individual has been involved in, in L.A.”

Weng’s Background

Weng, 30, who coauthored more than two dozen academic papers and worked in the lab of Stephen Cronin, a prominent USC engineering professor, was charged on Sept. 2 with rape, sodomy and sexual penetration by use of a controlled substance or anesthesia. He pleaded not guilty.
Hamilton said the evidence discovered at Weng’s home pointed detectives to additional victims.

Additional Victims

“Based on the investigation, we suspect there are more victims, and some of those victims may not know what happened,” Hamilton said. “We are looking at patterns of activity and we have evidence that says there are other victims.”
A judge granted Mariano’s request for no bail and set the next hearing in the case for Jan. 14. If convicted of all charges, Weng faces 25 years to life in prison, plus an additional 56 years.
Weng’s attorney, Daniel Perlman, did not respond to requests for comment.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton outside LAPD headquarters next to an image of Sizhe Weng, who was charged with drugging and sexually assaulting three women.
(Richard Winton / Los Angeles Times)

Details of the Crimes

According to the bail motion, Weng’s first victim was a childhood friend, identified as Jane Doe 1, who traveled with him to San Diego in December 2021. On the trip, Weng brought drugs he received from Germany as well as leather straps and dental devices, the motion said.
He used a pill crusher to make a powder from benzodiazepine pills that he placed with water in small glass vials. At a bar he put the concoction in his friend’s drink when she wasn’t looking, the motion said.
After they returned to their hotel room, he used a syringe and tubing to inject her anally with midazolam, also soaking a towel with the anesthetic sevoflurane and covering her nose and mouth with a mask, according to the motion.
After she lost consciousness, he tied her up with leather straps and vaginally raped her, switching to anal penetration after she resisted by kicking, the motion said.
Weng “filmed and photographed Jane Doe 1’s body in sexually compromising positions,” the motion said. In one image, she “appeared unconscious with a plastic dental device in her mouth exposing her gums and teeth.” Other images showed her “placed in different positions highlighting her vaginal and anal areas while her legs remained bound with leather straps.”

The University’s Response

According to USC records, Weng entered a master’s program at the university in 2018. He had graduated from Lanzhou University in China with a bachelor’s degree in theoretical physics.
He wrote on his LinkedIn page that his focus at USC was “thin films and semiconductor processing.” Before completing his doctorate in May, he worked as a teaching assistant in physical electronics and applied quantum mechanics, leading “discussions, homework and exam review sessions for over 50 graduate and undergraduate students from different majors and backgrounds,” he wrote.
In a statement, USC said it was “fully cooperating” with the LAPD’s investigation.
“Although we cannot discuss individual cases due to student privacy laws, we can confirm that the university had already taken appropriate steps to bar the individual in question from campus pending resolution of the criminal proceedings,” the statement said. “USC has not received any reports from individuals potentially impacted.”

Conclusion

The case of Sizhe Weng is a horrific example of the dangers of drugging and sexually assaulting women. The evidence found at Weng’s residence, including sexually explicit images and devices used to sedate his victims, is a clear indication of the severity of his crimes. The university’s response to the investigation and their decision to bar Weng from campus pending resolution of the criminal proceedings is a step in the right direction. However, it is crucial that more is done to prevent such crimes from occurring in the future and to support the victims of these heinous acts.

FAQs

1. Who is Sizhe Weng?
   Sizhe Weng is a 30-year-old USC graduate student who has been charged with drugging and sexually assaulting three women.
2. What were the crimes committed by Weng?
   Weng drugged the women, first with powder in their drinks or food and then with syringes and tubing in their anuses, before sexually assaulting them and photographing them.
3. How was Weng caught?
   Weng was caught after German authorities reached out to the LAPD about his involvement in a sex crimes and drugs investigation.
4. What is the current! status of the case?
   Weng has been charged with rape, sodomy, and sexual penetration by use of a controlled substance or anesthesia and is being held without bail. The next hearing in the case is set for Jan. 14.
5. What is the university’s response to the investigation?
   The university is fully cooperating with the LAPD’s investigation and has taken steps to bar Weng from campus pending resolution of the criminal proceedings.