USC student charged in drug-facilitated sexual assaults in LA

A doctoral student at the University of Southern California was arrested and charged after prosecutors say he drugged and raped multiple women in the greater Los Angeles area between 2021 and 2024. Sizhe Weng, 30, a Chinese national who also uses the name Steven Weng, was arrested late August and charged on September 2 with eight felony counts related to drug-facilitated sexual assaults, prosecutors and Los Angeles police said. He pleaded not guilty and was being held without bail as of Oct. 15.

Authorities allege Weng spiked the food or drinks of three women, rendering them incapacitated before sexually assaulting them. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed charges that include forcible assault, sodomy by controlled substance or anesthesia, assault by controlled substance and sexual penetration by controlled substance or anesthesia. Prosecutors said, if convicted, Weng faces a potential sentence of 25 years to life plus 56 years and would be required to register as an offender for life.

Los Angeles Police Department detectives said the investigation began in January after German authorities contacted the department with information about a Chinese national...