Iowa City Police: Peng Tang's Parents Accused of Attempting to Bribe Alleged Victim of Sexual Assault
The case of a man accused of sexual assault got even more complicated last week.
Iowa City police have charged the parents of the man accused of raping a woman two weeks ago with attempting to tamper with a witness through bribery -- the witness in this case allegedly being the victim of the assault.
According to an Iowa City Police criminal complaint, Peng Tang's parents -- his mother Li Qiao, 49, and his father, Xuefan Tang, 57 -- arrived in Iowa City and began staying at Tang's apartment at 923 E. College St. on or around April 5.
It was at this time that they are accused of allegedly telling people they knew that they should find the woman who was accusing their son and to "persuade" her to change her story, with the possibility that she would be paid to do so.
According to the complaint, the woman's friends told her that this was going on and she informed police of the situation, after which the parents were arrested.
After his arrest, the elder Tang told police that he had spoke with someone about contacting the victim about her story, according to the criminal complaint.
Tampering with a witness or juror is an aggravated misdemeanor charge.
Their son, Peng Tang, is accused of raping an Iowa City woman and is scheduled to be arraigned for his charge tomorrow at 2 p.m.
Tang, 21, of Iowa City, has been charged with first-degree kidnapping, a Class A felony, for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman who had intended to show him an apartment for a potential sublet agreement, binding her hands and threatening her with a knife while forcing her to perform sex acts.
More Details Revealed in Search Warrant of Iowa City Rape Case
The accused man, Peng Tang, 21, was lured into his arrest by the woman who claimed he had raped her, according to the search warrants.
The Iowa City man accused of sexually assaulting a woman who was showing him her apartment for rent last week found her through a website that caters to Chinese nationals, according to a search warrant filed as part of court documents at the Johnson County Courthouse.
According to the search warrant, the woman who reported to police that she had been sexually assaulted had placed her ad on zhan.renren.com with the intent of subletting her apartment. The warrant stated that the ad was directed at Chinese nationals and was written in Chinese.
The woman received a response to her ad last Thursday (March 29) and agreed to meet him that night at 8 p.m., according to the warrant. The man was identified as Peng Tang, 21, of Iowa City.
As the woman was showing the man the bedroom, he grabbed the victim by the hands and attempted to tie her up, according to the documents. Telling her he had a knife, he then forced her to perform sex acts and took photos, according to the warrant.
“You have better follow my requirements because I have a knife,” the man told the woman, according to Iowa City police criminal complaint.
Near the end of the assault, the woman told the man she had friends waiting for her at the University of Iowa Main Library, so he walked her there afterward, later warning her by text message that if she went to the police he would post the photos of the sex acts online, according to the search warrant.
The following day, after reporting the incident and receiving a sexual assault examination at the University Hospitals, the woman worked with police to convince the man to meet her at her apartment via phone, as the police waited to arrest him, according to the warrant. That afternoon, when Tang arrived, the woman was able to positively identify him, and he was arrested by police, according to the warrant.
When asked by police why he was there, Tang said he was there to visit a friend. When police asked him if he had any weapons on him he revealed he had a fruit knife in his backpack. The packpack also contained condoms and a passport, according to the warrant.
According to a story by the Gazette, a later search of Tang's apartment at 923 E. College St. revealed more:
During a search of the apartment of a 21-year-old Iowa City man accused of sexually assaulting a woman who was showing her apartment last week, officers found handcuffs, a knife, women’s bras, underwear and nylons, and an empty package of Viagra, according to court documents released Thursday.
Search warrant returns for Peng Tang’s apartment at 923 E. College St. #8 show investigators collected DNA samples from Tang along with clothing, a broken bra strap found by his trash can, a heart-shaped box of condoms and a lock-picking book with tools.
Tang allegedly later confessed to committing the crime when confronted by police. The preliminary hearing for his trial is April 9. He is accused of first-degree kidnapping, which carries with it a potential life in prison in sentence. He has also been placed on immigration hold, meaning he could be deported to his home country following the completion of his sentence.
