On Tuesday, September 13 in a Boston court, a 42-year-old man from Quincy pleaded not guilty to raping two young girls and two more adult women at knifepoint nearly 20 years ago.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney, Ivan Cheung has been charged with four counts of aggravated rape, two counts of rape of a child with force, two counts of aggravated rape of a child with force, and two counts of statutory rape of a child. A $1 million bail was set by the judge, or $250,000 for each rape count. Cheung’s attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf after he failed to appear in court.
Prosecutors
Prosecutors say Cheung kidnapped a 13-year-old girl from Chinatown in 2003, drove her somewhere else, and raped her with a knife. When attacking her, he allegedly stabbed her in the shoulder. A week later, investigators believe he abducted another teenage girl from the Charles Circle area, drove her to an unknown location, and raped her with a knife. Authorities say she was also stabbed during the attack.
The prosecution claims he committed another crime in 2005. According to the investigation, he picked up a 23-year-old woman near Park Plaza, raped her while holding a knife to her throat, and stabbed her multiple times. An 18-year-old North End woman, according to authorities, was raped by him in 2006.
Police claimed they were able to reexamine sexual assault kits related to this case thanks to a federal grant. They contain information gathered by police and medical personnel after an attack has been reported.
Earlier this summer
Earlier this summer, police started keeping an eye on Cheung. Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum said to reporters after Tuesday’s hearing that witnesses saw the defendant discard a cigarette after he had finished smoking it in the South Bay Mall area back in June. He revealed that it had been gathered by detectives and compared to DNA from the two adult victims. Investigators, according to the news station, made the link between the attacks because of the similarities between them and earlier ones, including the level of violence, the type of car, and the description of the attacker.
Cheung as Vice president
At State Street, Cheung holds the position of vice president. According to NBC, the company has put him on administrative leave while they conduct an investigation.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said, “If Mr. Cheung thought that the passage of years had somehow erased the possibility of him facing justice for these vicious crimes, he was very much mistaken.” Hayden added, “The detectives who worked this case deserve enormous credit for staying the course and bringing him in to face these charges.”