UPDATE, JULY 8, 2023: A judge dismissed sex assault charges against a former reality TV surgeon and his girlfriend on Friday.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Leversen said there was insufficient evidence on allegations that the couple drugged and sexually assaulted two accusers. The couple claimed they were swingers and that all acts were consensual.
They are still facing lesser charges of drug and gun possession and poisoning. They are free on $1 million bail ahead of a trial.
UPDATE, June 15, 2023: A former reality show star and surgeon and his girlfriend await a judge’s decision on whether they will stand trial for allegedly drugging and sexually abusing women.
Dr. Grant Robixcheaux and girlfriend Cerissa Riley claim they are swingers and that an any acts were consensual.
An Orange County hearing this week included testimony from two women who claimed they were assaulted by the two.
A judge will make a decision on July 9 as to whether there is enough evidence to go to trial.
UPDATE: An Orange County judge has approved a request by prosecutors to reduce charges against a Newport Beach hand surgeon and his girlfriend, who have been accused of drugging and raping multiple women. 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 pair have both pleaded not guilty to the amended charges.
Prosecutors have reportedly interviewed at least 13 alleged victims. At one time, Robicheaux was charged with harming seven victims and Riley with five. 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. The judge in the case had asked the state to file a brief explaining why it planned to dismiss certain charges before he made a decision.
EARLIER: Prosecutors said Friday that intend to go forward with a new complaint charging a former reality star and his girlfriend.
Grant Robicheaux, 40, and girlfriend Cerissa Riley, 34, were accused of drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women. The new charges will involve downsizing the cases to at least two alleged victims.
Julie Garland and Mary Katherine Strickland of the Attorney General’s Office told Orange County Superior Court Judge Frank Ospino Friday that they intend to file an amended complaint. The new charge would involve two women instead of the previous five. The new complaint would also reportedly modify drug charges in the case to more accurately reflect the allegations, they said.
Robicheaux is currently charged with sexually assaulting five women and Riley is charged with three alleged victims. At one time, Robicheaux was charged with seven victims and Riley with five.
Prosecutors have reportedly interviewed at least 13 alleged victims.
A previous motion indicated that an independent review indicated that some allegations could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
EARLIER: State prosecutors moved on Friday to dismiss several rape charges against Dr. Grant Robicheaux, who starred on an episode of the 2014 Bravo reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male.
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. That case was bolstered by new allegations that drugs were used in that attack.
The case against the two began two years ago, with Robicheaux, 40, and Riley, 33, painted as sexual predators who preyed on vulnerable women. They were accused of drugging women they would meet at various Newport Beach venues and then taking them to their Newport Beach home to sexually assault them.
Robicheaux was charged with sexually assaulting seven women, with Riley charged with five assaults. They have both pleaded not guilty and have denied that anything that happened was not consensual.
Prosecutors asked to dismiss 10 sex crime charges involving six of Robicheaux’s seven accusers. The motion indicated that an independent review indicated that some allegations could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
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.
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.
If the judge decides to grant the prosecutor’s wishes, the state will move its focus to an incident that happened in April 2017. The couple were charged of assault with intent to commit a sexual offense.
In that incident, Robicheaux allegedly began chatting with the woman on a dating app. They agreed to meet in person at a Newport Beach restaurant, with Riley joining them and posing as a friend.
The group later went to a bar, and prosecutors allege the alleged victim’s drinks were drugged. The woman, described as in her 20s, woke up in the couple’s home during the sexual assault. She ran to the bathroom and locked herself inside until the morning.
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.
“The defendants’ actions of facilitating the victim’s excessive consumption of alcohol and drugs to ultimately prevent her from possessing the ability to resist sexual intercourse was the underlying motivation for their behavior,” state prosecutors wrote in their motion.
City News Service contributed to this report.
UPDATE, June 15, 2023: A former reality show star and surgeon and his girlfriend await a judge’s decision on whether they will stand trial for allegedly drugging and sexually abusing women.
Dr. Grant Robixcheaux and girlfriend Cerissa Riley claim they are swingers and that an any acts were consensual.
An Orange County hearing this week included testimony from two women who claimed they were assaulted by the two.
A judge will make a decision on July 9 as to whether there is enough evidence to go to trial.
UPDATE: An Orange County judge has approved a request by prosecutors to reduce charges against a Newport Beach hand surgeon and his girlfriend, who have been accused of drugging and raping multiple women. 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 pair have both pleaded not guilty to the amended charges.
Prosecutors have reportedly interviewed at least 13 alleged victims. At one time, Robicheaux was charged with harming seven victims and Riley with five. 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. The judge in the case had asked the state to file a brief explaining why it planned to dismiss certain charges before he made a decision.
EARLIER: Prosecutors said Friday that intend to go forward with a new complaint charging a former reality star and his girlfriend.
Grant Robicheaux, 40, and girlfriend Cerissa Riley, 34, were accused of drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women. The new charges will involve downsizing the cases to at least two alleged victims.
Julie Garland and Mary Katherine Strickland of the Attorney General’s Office told Orange County Superior Court Judge Frank Ospino Friday that they intend to file an amended complaint. The new charge would involve two women instead of the previous five. The new complaint would also reportedly modify drug charges in the case to more accurately reflect the allegations, they said.
Robicheaux is currently charged with sexually assaulting five women and Riley is charged with three alleged victims. At one time, Robicheaux was charged with seven victims and Riley with five.
Prosecutors have reportedly interviewed at least 13 alleged victims.
A previous motion indicated that an independent review indicated that some allegations could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
EARLIER: State prosecutors moved on Friday to dismiss several rape charges against Dr. Grant Robicheaux, who starred on an episode of the 2014 Bravo reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male.
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. That case was bolstered by new allegations that drugs were used in that attack.
The case against the two began two years ago, with Robicheaux, 40, and Riley, 33, painted as sexual predators who preyed on vulnerable women. They were accused of drugging women they would meet at various Newport Beach venues and then taking them to their Newport Beach home to sexually assault them.
Robicheaux was charged with sexually assaulting seven women, with Riley charged with five assaults. They have both pleaded not guilty and have denied that anything that happened was not consensual.
Prosecutors asked to dismiss 10 sex crime charges involving six of Robicheaux’s seven accusers. The motion indicated that an independent review indicated that some allegations could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
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.
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.
If the judge decides to grant the prosecutor’s wishes, the state will move its focus to an incident that happened in April 2017. The couple were charged of assault with intent to commit a sexual offense.
In that incident, Robicheaux allegedly began chatting with the woman on a dating app. They agreed to meet in person at a Newport Beach restaurant, with Riley joining them and posing as a friend.
The group later went to a bar, and prosecutors allege the alleged victim’s drinks were drugged. The woman, described as in her 20s, woke up in the couple’s home during the sexual assault. She ran to the bathroom and locked herself inside until the morning.
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.
“The defendants’ actions of facilitating the victim’s excessive consumption of alcohol and drugs to ultimately prevent her from possessing the ability to resist sexual intercourse was the underlying motivation for their behavior,” state prosecutors wrote in their motion.
City News Service contributed to this report.
