If convicted on all counts, Riley faces up to 30 years in state prison; Robicheaux could . Spitzer announced that his office would request that charges against Robicheaux and Riley be dismissed after a review of the case found a lack of evidence and a mishandling of the case by the previous DA. [1], In 2018, Robicheaux and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, were charged with drugging and raping multiple women in Newport Beach, California. Gen. Yvette Martinez said her office is still reviewing documents to ensure theyve received all evidence in the case. City News Service , News Partner Posted Fri, Aug 20, 2021 . An attorney representing the couple declined to comment Friday. The attorney general, not this office, determines who state prosecutors talk to and when.. She used charm and good looks to disarm women, get them intoxicated, and then rape them at Robicheaux's apartment. Prosecutors alleged that Robicheaux, often with the help of his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, lured the women in, then drugged . I didnt create this situation, but its my responsibility to fix it, Spitzer said. Over three months, prosecutors looked at thousands of photographs and videos that had been taken from the couple's computers, hundreds of hours of audio recordings, thousands of pages of documents. Whoops! Spitzer has ensured the attorney general has unrestricted access to all district attorney personnel to aid in its review of the case and to answer any questions or provide clarification, she said. The top-to-bottom review of the case against Grant Robicheaux, 40, and Cerissa Riley, 33, ordered by Spitzer was incomplete and contained inaccurate and misleading information, according to the memo. [5] In June 2020, Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones refused to drop the charges against Robicheaux and Riley and said both Rackauckas and Spitzer had used the case against each other while campaigning. On Friday, the judge in the case asked the state to file a brief explaining why it plans to dismiss certain charges before he makes a decision. MyNewsLA.com wont sell your information and you can unsubscribe at any time. At the time, then-Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said that Robicheaux and Riley would meet their victims at local bars and restaurants, drug them and then take them home and sexually assault them. The woman, described as in her 20s, woke up in the couples home during the sexual assault. Robicheaux received his medical degree from Louisiana State University and completed his residency at University of California, Irvine Medical Center. Both Riley and Robicheaux were freed on $100,000 bail, and return to court on Oct. 25 for an arraignment. Another judge at the time said he would refuse to drop the charges, calling Mr Spitzer's decision "ludicrous" and questioning the district attorney's possible motives for the move. Police say she helped her reality-TV star boyfriend drug and sexually assault women. Edds said in a statement Thursday that the office has been cooperative with the state attorney general and has turned over all discovery in their possession. Spitzer accused his predecessor of overreaching on the case to bolster his reelection campaign and moved to have the charges dropped. Ultimately, they determined there was insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Over the past three years of the case, the lawsuit has been subject to political infighting between the former and current district attorney. This document was the final determination of a personnel investigation into whether an investigator included all pertinent exculpatory information in her police reports.. UPDATE: Surgeon accused of multiple rapes is LHS grad - KATC State prosecutors told an Orange County Superior Court judge on Friday that they plan to move forward with a case against a Newport Beach surgeon and his girlfriend, centering it on sexual assault allegations lodged by two women. "This case is a complete travesty," the woman told Ospino. SANTA ANA (CBSLA) In the latest chapter in an ongoing sexual assault case which has seen a series of twists and turns, an Orange County Superior Court judge Thursday approved a request to reduce the charges against a Newport Beach surgeon and his girlfriend. UPDATE: A California physician who has been accused of drugging and assaulting two women is a graduate of Lafayette High School. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Hannah Fry is a Metro reporter covering Orange County for the Los Angeles Times. Robicheaux and Riley speak out after a prosecutor said he would drop charges. Attorneys for Dr. Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley argued that the warrant to search the residence at 202 44th St. for drugs and DNA should be quashed and anything found during the resulting search be deemed inadmissible. Supervisor, defeated Rackauckas in the DA's race in November of 2018. Fish noted that according to the police reports, illicit drugs were alleged to be at the residence in April of 2016 and again in July of 2017 and that Robicheaux himself said the home was used as a place to `party and sleep it off., One woman told police she met Robicheaux and Riley while drinking at a bar in Newport Beach and that despite being an experienced drinker, she became intoxicated beyond the level she expected given what she drank, according to the ruling. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Robicheaux was charged with sexually assaulting seven women, with Riley charged with five assaults. Since charges were filed in September 2018, the couples lives have been in shambles, their attorney Thomas M. Ferlauto said. [1] The woman immediately contacted the police the next morning to report that she had been assaulted and a subsequent test of her blood showed multiple controlled substances in her body. The California surgeon and his girlfriend accused of drugging and - CNN (Image credit: Audiochuck) By The Editors. The charges had initially involved five victims. Dr. Grant Robicheaux and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, had their lives " destroyed. In 2019, shortly after Todd Spitzer took over as the countys top prosecutor, he assigned two deputy district attorneys to conduct a review of all the evidence collected in the case. In January, police obtained a search warrant for the couples residence and found large quantities of illegal narcotics, including date-rape drugs, ecstasy, and cocaine, along with unregistered firearms, high quantity magazines, and some assault weapons, prosecutors said. Wenn Sie Ihre Auswahl anpassen mchten, klicken Sie auf Datenschutzeinstellungen verwalten. She grew up in Orange County and got her start as an intern at the Orange County Register. Dr. Grant Robicheaux, 40, and Cerissa Riley, 34, will now face sexual assault charges involving two of the alleged victims. Required fields are marked *. She told police someone was filming the incident. In 2019, shortly after Spitzer took over as the countys top prosecutor, he assigned two deputy district attorneys to conduct a review of all the evidence collected in the case. Rackauckas said he believed the womens complaints based on the evidence he had. When Mr Rackauckas was overseeing the case, he incorrectly predicted that there could be as many as 1,000 victims. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Were trying to be cooperative, but Ive got to tell you nobody from the AGs office has talked to my clients, he said during the hearing. Judge scales back rape case against Newport Beach doctor and girlfriend The review of the case by the D.A.s office came under scrutiny during a personnel investigation into a district attorney investigator, Jennifer Kearns. An Orange County Superior Court judge on Wednesday granted a. At one point the California Attorney General's Office took over the case from the Orange County District Attorney's Office after it determined that District Attorney Todd Spitzer and Tony Rackauckas, a political rival and his predecessor, used the case to further their own political ambitions. However, in February of 2020, new O.C. Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley: California surgeon and his - CNN ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Concertgoer lets out a loud full body orgasm while L.A. Phil plays Tchaikovskys 5th, Plaschke: Lakers live up to their legacy with a close-out win for the ages, L.A. Affairs: I had my reasons for not dating white men. We want to hear from you! CNNs Dakin Andone contributed to this report. [1] She says that Robicheaux and Riley then brought her to Robicheauxs apartment and began sexually assaulting her. Grant is not married yet but he is in a relationship with his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley. She said the investigators reached their conclusions about the case review while looking into alleged misconduct by a district attorneys office employee who was involved in the Robicheaux case and based their findings on a small part of the case review. "O.C. Swingers" Is Your New Favorite Chill-Inducing Podcast All allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Grant Robicheaux and his girlfriend Cerissa Riley, the attorneys said. The memo and the internal divisions it highlights mark another twist in a case thats been embroiled in controversy for the last two years. After the request was granted, only the charges stemming from two alleged victims are still intact. Riley gave the woman a drink and the trio went to a bedroom, where the woman blacked out and later woke up next to Robicheaux, Fish wrote. At one time, Robicheaux was charged with harming seven victims and Riley with five. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), OC Superior Court - Photo courtesy of the OC Courts' website. Over three months, prosecutors looked at thousands of photographs and videos that had been taken from the couples computers, hundreds of hours of audio recordings, thousands of pages of documents and tens of thousands of text messages between Robicheaux and Riley spanning four years. Also, the criminality addressed in this specific statute concentrates on the womans ability or capacity to give consent. At one time, Robicheaux was charged with seven victims and Riley with five. Four years later, the divorce has still not been finalized, but the split is amicable, and Riley remains very much a part of her family, Woodruff said. Robicheaux is currently charged with sexually assaulting five women and Riley is charged with three alleged victims. Dr. Grant Robicheaux and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, had their lives destroyed by the allegations, their lawyer said. Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones refused District Attorney Todd Spitzer's request to dismiss the case outright. The Newport Beach surgeon who once appeared on a cable-network reality show pleaded not guilty, along with his girlfriend, to charges of drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women in attacks that were allegedly recorded on cell phone video.Photo by Paul Bersebach/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images). The group later went to a bar, and prosecutors allege the alleged victims drinks were drugged. Dist. Before that, Orange Coast Magazine named him a 2013 bachelor of the year. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said the case against the couple was fueled by his predecessor, Tony Rackauckas, trying to gain support for his re-election campaign. After Riley and Dr. Grant Robicheaux, an orthopedic surgeon who starred briefly on The Online Dating Rituals of the American Male, were charged with attacking two women, others came forward with similar allegations. The district attorney says photos from the surgeons phone indicate there could be many more unidentified victims. The idea was to have something odd happening, so people who were down and out, like homeless people, would stop and they would have a chance to evangelize.. Both had denied any wrong doing. I feel like I finally woke up from a bad nightmare, Riley told ABCs Good Morning America in an interview that aired Friday. That woman said she met the defendants at a bar, and at some point she felt as if she blacked out at the bar and awoke later on the floor of the residence associated with the defendants and remembers a man hitting her in the face and someone else kicking her in the head, Fish wrote. August 26, 2021 / 11:22 AM But instead of granting that motion, as many expected, the judge took it under submission and allowed more time for all parties to present more facts, Fell said. [1] The District Attorney filed charges on September 11, 2018, and detectives arrested Robicheaux and Riley on September 12, 2018. Authorities said the couple may have attempted to assault women at several festivals and camp sites along the west coast, including the Burning Man Festival, Dirtybird Campout Festival, Splash House Festival, and various tourist landmarks around Page, Arizona. The poverty level is really bad out there. The couple have pleaded not guilty and have denied any nonconsensual sex. / KCAL News. The following month, Spitzer's office was removed from the case and replaced by the California AG. One alleged victim told Ospino she was "exhausted" by the twists and turns in the case over the past three years, including the recent surprise decision by Orange County Superior Court Judge Steven Bromberg to recuse himself from the case. [1] The woman stated that she consumed large amounts of alcohol before they invited her to Robicheaux's residence for an afterparty, where they drugged, raped, and orally copulated her. [1] The police later stated that they had suspicions but we did not have positive identity at the time of the reports. The request, however, was denied last year by Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones. Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the district attorneys office, said the criticisms investigators voiced in the memo were not a denunciation of the entire review of the Robicheaux case. Your email address will not be published. His ethnicity is White. Grant Robicheaux and Ceriss Riley appear outside of court on Wendesday, October 17, 2018. drop charges against the California couple. H-O-O-K, Woodruff explained, it meant to hook peopleto hook people on these little skits.. City News Service contributed to this report. Your email address will not be published. [1], Robicheaux appeared in 2014 on the Bravo show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male, which followed his search for a girlfriend. [1] Robicheaux and Riley were each released on a $100,000 bail. The second defendant, being a female, is key, Rackaukas said. Previously, he also appeared on an episode of the short-lived Bravo reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male in April 2014. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? The new charges will involve downsizing the cases to at least two alleged . Then something changed, Dating in L.A. is exhausting, so I asked a chatbot to flirt for me. Robicheaux and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, stood accused of multiple rapes in Newport Beach, Calif. By dismissing rape charges against them, prosecutors will concentrate on a 2017 sexual assault charge against the two. She said that when she went to their home, she was so drunk she needed help to get inside and that she was given an unknown powder and pill by Robicheaux, which relaxed her and made her drowsy, Fish wrote. The then-district attorney admitted that media attention would help his re-election but denied making any decisions based on his political aspirations. My client believes in her heart of hearts that she was the victim of sexual assault, said attorney Michael Fell, who represents a woman known as Jane Doe #4. Police who responded to the scene found she seemed heavily intoxicated, and when they tried to question her again moments later, she did not remember the initial interview, Fish wrote. There is not a single piece of evidence or video or photo that shows an unconscious or incapacitated woman being sexually assaulted, said Spitzer, the new prosecutor. Murphy and others also criticized the decision by district attorney officials to bar Kearns from speaking to anyone from the attorney generals office about the case without a supervisor present. Got a tip? It took us a year of planning.. Mr Spitzer, who was campaigning against Mr Rackauckas at the time, accused the district attorney of delaying the couple's arrest to drum up media coverage, which he alleged would help his opponent's campaign. During a pretrial hearing Thursday, Deputy Atty. [4] As of August 2021, Robicheaux was charged with sexually assaulting two women and Riley was charged with three alleged victims.[2][4][6]. There is no such thing as advanced consent., Fish added, In any event, the consent arguments made by the defense do not detract from the finding made by the magistrate. Woman who accused Newport Beach doctor of rape asks judge not to If convicted on all counts, Riley faces up to 30 years in state prison; Robicheaux could see up to 40. The move means Dr. Grant Robicheaux, who starred on an episode of the 2014 Bravo reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male, and Cerissa Riley are now facing charges involving only two alleged victims. The woman said she told the couple she was having her period, in an effort to prevent them from initiating sex, but Robicheaux had sex with her after her clothes were taken off and Riley filmed part of it, Fish wrote. Thats unlikely to improve anyones mental health, Opinion: Why my Taiwanese American identity has become more complicated, 7 hospitalized after driver in stolen car runs red light in San Bernardino, police say, Barstow police investigating after officer caught on video hitting man with a baton, Northern California town on edge after second fatal stabbing in a week. Spitzers review of the case came under scrutiny during a personnel investigation into an investigator at the district attorneys office, Jennifer Kearns. Ms. Riley could spend 30 years behind bars. Atty. The case against Dr. Grant Robicheaux, 40, and Cerissa Riley, 34, has been reassigned to Orange County Superior Court Judge Frank Ospino, a former Orange County public defender, following the. More women say surgeon drugged and raped them. CNN First they were accused of drugging and raping women while recording their exploits on a cell phone. 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The same day, the Orange County district attorneys office made a motion to dismiss the case in front of Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones. Grant Robicheaux is an American surgeon who appeared on an episode of the 2014 Bravo reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male. Grant and Cerissas lives were destroyed by the prior administrations misuse of the justice system, Ferlauto, the couples attorney, said. Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy. The defense also argued the search warrant was stale, meaning it was sought too long after detectives responded to the claims of the women. appreciated. Prosecutors claim Robicheaux and Riley administered drugs in order to engage in sexual intercourse with an incapacitated victim. They also allegedly gave the woman cocaine and PCP. Robicheaux and Riley told Good Morning America they participated in a swingers lifestyle. Things got weird fast, Opinion: California wants more psychiatric detentions. Ospino indicated he intends to rule next week on the prosecutors request to pare down the charges. The top-to-bottom review of the case against Grant Robicheaux, 40, and Cerissa Riley, 33, ordered by Spitzer was "incomplete and contained inaccurate and misleading information," according to . Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. However, prosecutors told Judge Frank Ospino on Friday that they now intend to move forward with two of the original seven women whom Grant Robicheaux, 40, was accused of sexually assaulting. How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! Spitzer accused his predecessor, Rackauckas, of possible prosecutorial misconduct: sensationalizing the case and driving it forward as a publicity stunt to further his own re-election efforts. Reduced Charges For Reality Doctor, Girlfriend: Newport Rape Case She said a day before she had consensual sex with both defendants and that she went to a concert the next day with the doctor, and they both did cocaine, Fish wrote. But they insisted none of the women theyd had a sexual relationship with were too inebriated to consent. A woman, or any participant, can limit or withdraw his/her consent at any time, Fish wrote. O.C. The facts have to be viewed in their totality. Fry most recently covered breaking news for The Times and was part of the team that was a 2020 Pulitzer finalist for its coverage of a boat fire that killed 34 people off the coast of Santa Barbara. [1] On September 6, 2018, the Newport Beach Police turned the investigation over to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. This is not Cerissa, Sheryl Woodruff, Rileys former mother-in-law said. Orange County Dist. At the same time, prosecutors asked to dismiss three firearms enhancements against Robicheaux and Riley and to reduce four felony charges of drug possession for sale to misdemeanors. Adam E. Chaikin, an attorney for the Assn. last . Grant Robicheaux, a surgeon once locally dubbed "bachelor of the year" and whose dating escapades were featured on a Bravo reality show, was originally accused by seven women of crimes including rape and sexual assault. Then the case took a bizarre turn last week when a new prosecutor said he would drop charges against the California couple citing insufficient evidence and claiming the previous DA used the case for political gain. Rackauckas said the victims in video appeared highly intoxicated, "beyond the ability to consent or resist," and that the women were barely responsive to sexual advances by Robicheaux and Riley. And they said Riley played an important role. The agency launched a probe into Kearns actions and, as part of that inquiry, investigators concluded the review Spitzer ordered had been lacking. 2. She was a member of the Associated Students Board at their high schoolan important job, the daughter said, because she was entrusted with overseeing a part of the schools budget. View more / View fewer Facts of Grant Robicheaux. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, wrote in an email to Walters in October that the directive probably intimidates Kearns from sharing necessary details about the case with prosecutors without fear of reprimand. Grant Robicheaux, left, and Cerissa Riley, the Newport Beach doctor and his girlfriend accused of drugging and raping multiple women, listen during a hearing in Orange County Superior Court on . Prosecutors say a California dance instructor was one half of a serial date-rape team who would make targets feel comfortable and safe and then help her doctor boyfriend drug and sexually assault them. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, prosecutors painted the couple as sexual predators. The new charges will involve downsizing the cases to at least two alleged victims. A Wealthy Surgeon Accused Of Drugging And Raping Women Is No Longer Dr. Grant Robicheaux and girlfriend Cerissa Riley, pictured in October 2018, were charged with drugging and raping multiple women.
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