Man seen by 3 women trying to spike friend's drink at Santa Monica restaurant pleads guilty, will be required to serve time and register as sex offender

A man who police say was seen by three bystanders trying to drug a friend at Fig in Santa Monica has pleaded guilty in the case, and will have to serve time in jail and register as a sex offender.

Michael Roe-Chien Hsu pleaded guilty on March 18 to "an act of sexual penetration where the victim was prevented from resisting by any intoxicating or anesthetic substance, or any controlled substance." Santa Monica police say Hsu also admitted to factors in aggravation.

The guilty plea resolves a case that started back in 2016, when three women at Fig restaurant inside the Fairmont Miramar Hotel said in a viral Facebook post that they saw him surreptitiously spike his friend's drink as she was in the bathroom. One of the women got up to alert security and warn the woman in the bathroom of what she had seen.

Police say when the friend returned to the table, Hsu tried to get her too take a drink of her wine, but she waited until police arrived. The incident was captured on surveillance video, and Hsu was arrested on suspicion of assault with the intent to commit a felony and unlawfully administering a drug with intent to commit a felony.

Hsu was found to have three vials in his possession that later tested positive for MDMA and melatonin, police said, and an electronic search warrant of his phone revealed images and videos of him "digitally penetrating the victim in an incapacitated state at various stages of their friendship then dating relationship."