Peng Tang, Yet to Stand Trial for Sexual Assault, Now Also Formally Charged of Breaking Into Another Residence, Stealing Laptop, Bras, Underwear

Peng Tang has managed to add two more charges to face while still being incarcerated.

The crimes, felony third-degree burglary and second-degree theft, were filed Jan. 8 in the Johnson County Courthouse, but they actually are alleged to have taken place in March 2012.

According to Iowa City Police Criminal complaints, on March 12, 2012 Tang broke into a home at the 700 BLOCK of Michael St. and stole a MacBook Pro worth $2,000 along with multiple pairs of underwair and bras. A later search of Tang's residence recovered these items.

Tang had been a tenant of this house prior to the victims moving in, according to the complaint. On one occasion a tenant came inside to find Tang in the living room holding their mail, but Tang assured him or her that it was alright for him to be there, as he used to be a tenant. Tang was then asked to leave and not return.

Later that month, on March 30, at 923 College St. Apt. #8, police officers say they executed a search warrant on Tang's address for the sexual assault charge, and discovered women's underwear, bras, and laptop. When confronted about these, Tang said they belonged to his girlfriend, according to the complaint. Officers, however, noted that the serial numbers had been scratched off, so they sought confirmation from a burglary complaint matching those items. The female victim from Michael St. said that they belonged to her.

Tang, now 22, is awaiting trial for the alleged first-degree sexual assault of a female student, a fellow Chinese national. The charge for that incident is first-degree kidnapping, a charge that carries a potential life sentence; he also is awaiting another trial on attempting to convince that victim via a letter into changing her story. Recent complications have also arisen about Tang's claimed inability to understand the concept of Miranda rights.

I wrote a story recently bringing everything up to date on the Peng Tang case up to before these charges were filed. Tang still is in the Muscatine County Jail facility according to online records with an $800,000 bail. He has also been flagged by immigration officials for possible future deportation.