USC grad student accused of serial rapes, drugging women in Southern California, LAPD says

"(Richard Winton / Los Angeles Times) A USC graduate student who has used drugs to rape and assault multiple women is accused of being a serial sexual predator and authorities are looking for additional victims, Los Angeles Police Department officials announced Wednesday. Sizhe Weng, 33, is being held without bail after being arrested and charged with eight felony counts involving drug-facilitated sexual assaults of young women he came into contact with since beginning his graduate studies at the University of Southern California in 2021."

"Hamilton, who oversees LAPD's detectives, said they strongly suspect there are other victims and are encouraging them to come forward. "If you have had any kind of contact with this individual, if you are linked to him through any other ways or any other means, our Robbery Homicide detectives would like to interview you regarding his actions," Hamilton said. Those alleged victims could be in L.A. and beyond, he said."

Sizhe Weng, a 33-year-old USC graduate student, is held without bail after arrest and indictment on eight felony counts tied to alleged drug-facilitated sexual assaults of young women encountered since 2021. The LAPD investigation began after German authorities contacted Los Angeles about a similar European probe involving a Chinese national believed to have lived in Los Angeles for years. Detectives executed a search warrant at Weng's South L.A. residence, arrested him on Aug. 28 for rape of an intoxicated person, and charged him Sept. 2 with rape, sodomy and sexual penetration involving drugs and anesthesia. Investigators suspect additional victims and are urging anyone with contact or links to come forward.

Read at Los Angeles Times