Jail for painter who raped teen students
Chao-Li Tseng told victims he was making them better artists
An artist who raped teenagers at an Auckland studio had worked at the Louvre and had a personal exhibition at one of New Zealand’s largest museums, the Herald can reveal.
Chao-Li Tseng, 50, was sentenced yesterday by Judge Brooke Gibson to 16 years’ in prison with a minimum non-parole period of eight years.
Tseng was found guilty, by a jury, of 17 sex charges involving four women after a nearly three-week trial during August and September in the Auckland District Court.
The judge said Tseng “let himself down in an appalling way” for someone previously held in high regard by the arts community and showed “clear premeditation” in his offending.
There were also clear indications Tseng was grooming the teenagers, Judge Gibson said.
All his victims were aged 14 to 18 when the offending occurred at the studio during 2014 and 2015.
Judge Gibson suppressed the name of the business, but said he had to take into account that the offending took place at the studio.
Tseng has not been involved in the running of the business for the past two years because of the police investigation and trial.
Until yesterday Tseng’s identity and career had been suppressed by court order, but the Herald can now reveal that he is a prolific and awardwinning painter who worked at the famous Paris museums the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay.
Tseng’s lawyer, Phil Hamlin, agreed with the judge his client had “no basis” for continued name suppression.
“There is quite a high public interest,” the judge said.
Three of the victims opposed continued name suppression for Tseng, while the fourth was neutral.
Tseng, who is fluent in French and Mandarin, moved to New Zealand in 2010 to teach painting, and live a quiet and peaceful life with his wife, he said in a translated interview published in the Chinese Herald.
The court heard yesterday that he has begun learning English to help him during his time in jail.
In October 2014 a private exhibition, “La Parole Du Coeur”, was held in the Auckland War Memorial Museum for 40 of Tseng’s oil paintings. It displayed his work to a crowd of more than 200, including National MP Dr Jian Yang, Labour MP Raymond Huo, and cultural officer for the Chinese Consul-General Zhang Heqing.
According to online articles, Tseng was hailed as an artistic genius when a boy and won an international chil-
You need this experience, it will make you a better arts student. Tseng’s alleged statement to victim
dren’s painting competition at 7.
He was also awarded first place in the Taiwan National University Entrance Fine Art Competition in 1987 and admitted by the Faculty of Arts at Taiwan Catholic Fu-Jen University.
In 1989 he won first prize in the Taipei County Fine Arts Competition in watercolour paintings.
One work, Rendes-Vous, is part of the official permanent collection of the New Taipei City Museum.
After moving to Paris in 1993 to study and research art, he continued to win awards.
He was made a permanent member of the Societe des Artistes Francais and presented with a silver medal by the Ministry of Culture.
However, Tseng dramatically fell from grace after being charged with six counts of rape, five of indecent assault, five of unlawful sexual connection, and two of sexual connection with a young person.
He was found not guilty of one count of an indecent act.
During his lessons he would tell “fantastical stories” to the teenagers about art and his achievements.
Tseng told one teen what he was doing “was good for her” and would help her become a better artist.
He also told one of the teens oral sex with him would enable her “to see colours”.
He strenuously claimed throughout the police investigation and trial that the affairs were all consensual.
“When you have a love for painting, you never ask why,” Tseng said at trial. The artist said he only learned one of the girls he was having sex with was underage after police charged him.
One of the victims told the court her friends had urged her to go to the police.
“They said, ‘You have to tell him to stop.’ He was just doing it all the time,” she said in a police interview.
She said the artist’s actions “just started getting worse”. “Every time you would go in the room he would always lock the door.”
She said Tseng would tell her, “You need this experience, it will make you a better arts student.”
Hamlin said his client was aware he would be deported back to Taiwan at the end of his sentence.