Former ASU student and Chinese national, Xiaoyuan Zhang, 22, is set to be deported three months after he was convicted of felony voyeurism charges, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Zhang was caught recording videos of women using the bathroom in the Education Lecture Hall on ASU’s Tempe campus in September, the ASU Police Department said.
Yasmeen O’Keefe a spokesman for ICE, said in an email that Zhang was taken into ICE custody on Jan. 24, 2016.
“An immigration judge with the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review subsequently determined Mr. Zhang no longer has a legal basis to remain in the U.S.," O'Keefe said. "Accordingly, ICE is now making preparations to repatriate Mr. Zhang to his native country.”
O'Keefe said Zhang was placed on immigration hold after is court appearance, which is a hold placed on deportable inmates by ICE. She did not provide specific dates for Zhang's deportation or repatriation.
ASUPD media specialist Katy Harris said a call came in on Sept. 26 night for surreptitious photographing.
“The call came in at 9:27 on Monday night about the suspect taking pictures of girls in the bathroom,” Harris said.
Two officers responded to the scene at 100 E Gammage Parkway.
Harris said that upon the officer's arrival, Zhang gave them consent to look through his phone.
According to arrest records originally obtained by KTVK News, the officers found six pictures of women on the phone that were allegedly taken under the stall.
Officers arrested him under the charge of surreptitious photographing and transported him to the police station on the Tempe campus.
“His native language is Mandarin so there was a language barrier,” Harris said. “So we went ahead and stopped the interview, placed him under arrest and we transported him to our police department.”
At the station, officers interviewed Zhang in Mandarin.
According to the the arrest record, he was initially facing six charges of "unlawful viewing/taping/recording persons."
Court records show Zhang pleaded guilty to two charges of voyeurism on Dec. 21, 2016.
In a statement two days after the incident, ASU said they could not comment specifically on the situation due to federal laws, but that students are held to high standards.
“Federal laws governing student privacy and state regulations prevent the university from discussing the details of an individual student’s situation. Arizona State University sets high standards for student behavior which are reflected in the Student Code of Conduct."
Reach the reporters at isaac.windes@asu.edu and nfish2@asu.edu or follow @isaacwindeschef and @gofishgetgone on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
