She grew up in Orange County and got her start as an intern at the Orange County Register. 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. The second defendant, being a female, is key, Rackaukas said. 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. Rackauckas said he believed the womens complaints based on the evidence he had. And, they would go for months at a time. In 2014, Rileys husband left her, leaving her broken, her ex-sister-in-law said, adding, She had to learn how to live without someone shes known for years.. Grant is not married yet but he is in a relationship with his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley. She told police someone was filming the incident. California Woman who accused Newport Beach doctor of rape asks judge not to dismiss charges Dr. Grant Robicheaux and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, who are charged with drugging and sexually. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? Dr. Grant Robicheaux, 40, and Cerissa Riley, 34, will now face sexual assault charges involving two of the alleged victims. After the charges were dropped, Orange County Superior Court Judge Steven Bromberg recused himself from the case. During a pretrial hearing Thursday, Deputy Atty. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. 9:18 AM EST, Tue February 11, 2020, Rape charges against reality TV surgeon to be dropped. The request, however, was denied by Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones. The couple have pleaded not guilty and have denied any nonconsensual sex. A Warner Bros. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. Required fields are marked *. 38-Years-Old, Grant Robicheaux is an orthopedic surgeon in Newport Beach, Calif. 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. 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. 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. Dr. Grant Robicheaux and his girlfriend Cerissa Riley will return to court to see how charges will be amended in their drug and rape case. Weitere Informationen ber die Verwendung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten finden Sie in unserer Datenschutzerklrung und unserer Cookie-Richtlinie. They said the portrait authorities painted of Riley as a predator clashed with their memory of the choreographeran Evangelical Christian who went abroad to spread the word of God, performing street-corner skits to attract potential converts. [1] On September 6, 2018, the Newport Beach Police turned the investigation over to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. Robicheaux is currently charged with sexually assaulting five women and Riley is charged with three alleged victims. 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. D.A.'s office investigator Jennifer Kearns alleges in the lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court, that Spitzer colluded with Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley's defense attorneys while. The case against the two began two years ago, withRobicheaux, 40, and Riley, 33, painted as sexual predators who preyed on vulnerable women. [1], In February 2020, Todd Spitzer won the election for District Attorney, taking over Rackauckas's position. Orange County Dist. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. Todd Spitzer announces in February that he plans to drop all charges against Newport Beach doctor Grant Robicheaux and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley. 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. CBS Los Angeles reported that Grant Robicheaux, who was once the subject of a Bravo reality show for his dating escapades, was originally accused by seven women of rape and sexual assault. Send it to The Daily Beasthere. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. A judge approved a request on Thursday to drop most of the case against a man and his girlfriend who were accused of drugging and raping multiple women, paring it down to charges related to just two alleged victims.. 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 . Sign up here for our free newsletters. This document was the final determination of a personnel investigation into whether an investigator included all pertinent exculpatory information in her police reports.. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Check for a confirmation email, and then you're all set with MyNewsLA.com! And they said Riley played an important role. In that incident, Robicheaux allegedly began chatting with the woman on a dating app. ), First published on August 26, 2021 / 11:22 AM. Got a tip? [Riley] was literally sleeping in the street. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? [1], In a September 2018 press conference, the Orange County District Attorney, Tony Rackauckas, stated that detectives had found a video of the sex acts with one of the victim. Tony Rackauckas filed charges against Robicheaux and Riley, painting them as sexual predators who used their good looks to prey on vulnerable women, drug them and take them back to their Newport Beach home to sexually assault them. Clint McCall to Chief Paul M. Walters, who leads the investigative bureau at the district attorneys office. 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. Then something changed, Dating in L.A. is exhausting, so I asked a chatbot to flirt for me. But the allegations against Cerissa Riley, 31, lodged this week in Orange County bewildered two people who have known her for years. If the judge decides to grant the prosecutors wishes, the state will move its focus to an incident that happened in April 2017. Please enter valid email address to continue. 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. [1] Following the charges, the California Medical Board opened an investigation into Robicheaux's conduct. [3] Robicheaux was charged with sixteen felonies, including sexually assaulting seven women and Riley was charged with sexually assaulting five women. 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. Certainly, any prosecutor should think long and hard before dismissing such a case where multiple women have independently come forward and subjected themselves to the hard process of (baring) their souls to the authorities.. The new charges will involve downsizing the cases to at least two alleged victims. [1] Rackauckas also stated that there were additional videos, saying, "There are a substantial number of videos. However, in February of 2020, new O.C. The charges had initially involved five victims. Grant Robicheaux is an American surgeon who appeared on an episode of the 2014 Bravo reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male. I texted her the other day, Woodruff said. Newport Beach surgeon Grant Robicheaux and his model girlfriend appeared in court for a preliminary hearing on Thursday after a judge recused himself from case as victims spoke about how they. The two saw each other just six months ago, when the young woman was acting in a play. The defense also argued the search warrant was stale, meaning it was sought too long after detectives responded to the claims of the women. Robicheaux and Riley speak out after a prosecutor said he would drop charges. 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. ( Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Both had denied any wrong doing. Six months later, police got a similar complaint after a woman who met the couple woke up in their apartment, and started to scream, prompting a neighbor who heard her cries to call 911, according to prosecutors. His nationality is American. 2. Prosecutors have reportedly interviewed at least 13 alleged victims. At the time, prosecutors painted the couple as sexual predators who used their good looks to prey on vulnerable women, drug them and take them back to their posh Newport Beach home to assault them. We believe there may be many unidentified victims out there, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said this week. If convicted on all counts, Riley faces up to 30 years in state prison; Robicheaux could . Later, at his home, she did more drugs with him, including ketamine, and when they attempted to have sex he could not do so, the judge wrote. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Police say she helped her reality-TV star boyfriend drug and sexually assault women. Dr. Grant Robicheaux, 39, and Cerissa Riley, 32, of Newport Beach, appeared Friday in a taped interview on ABC's "Good Morning America." "I feel like I finally woke up from a bad nightmare . I just feel terrible for the women who had the courage to come forward and give their evidence to the authorities in this case, the former DA said. His ethnicity is White. 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. Both Riley and Robicheaux were freed on $100,000 bail, and return to court on Oct. 25 for an arraignment. Spitzers review of the case came under scrutiny during a personnel investigation into an investigator at the district attorneys office, Jennifer Kearns. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Surgeon who appeared on reality TV dating show is accused of sexual assault and preying on drugged women, conduct a review of all the evidence collected in the case. New DA says he wants to drop charges against Robicheaux and Riley. In their free time, the group would head out to Huntington Beach or Los Angeles, Rileys former in-laws said, and start performing on the street. He received media attention in 2018 after he was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women. 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. They argued that a detective misled a magistrate judge about the evidence and circumstances. 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. They have been aware of these accusations for a number of months, and each of them will formally deny the truth of these allegations at their first opportunity in court.. 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. Dr. Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley initially were charged with drugging and raping seven women. Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. 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. This is not Cerissa, Sheryl Woodruff, Rileys former mother-in-law said. All Rights Reserved. A previous motion indicated that an independent review indicated that some allegations could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. However, there are a total of 13 accusers, some of whom could be used by prosecutors as further evidence of a pattern of behavior. Wenn Sie Ihre Auswahl anpassen mchten, klicken Sie auf Datenschutzeinstellungen verwalten. 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. Over three months, the 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 a four-year period. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. City News Service contributed to this report. The net worth and salary of Grand is still hidden and will be published soon. There is also video evidence suggests that there could be hundreds of other women who may not realize they were victims. Grant was born in California in the year 1976. She also said she saw Riley drink something from a contact case and thought it odd.. [5][3] Later in 2020, the Attorney General of California took over prosecuting the case. 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. Paul Bersebach/Orange County Register Via AP, Days Of Our Lives Star Victoria Grace Withdraws From Daytime Emmys Nominations After Huge Misunderstanding Regarding The Rules, Mike Shannon Dies: Emmy-Winning Broadcaster For St. Louis Cardinals Was 83, Legal Battle Over Guitarist Johnny Winters Music Heats Up, Stanley Tucci Talks About His Oral Cancer Battle: I Had A Feeding Tube For Six Months, Online Dating Rituals of the American Male, The Issues, The Stakes, Movies & TV Shows Affected, How Long It Might Last, Netflix Lands Adam McKays New Comedy Average Height, Average Build, Plumbs Another Domestic Win At $38M; Karting Past $1 Billion Global, Serious Moments For Media Give Way To Satire & Mirth; Biden & Wood Remarks. 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. She joined the newspaper in 2013 as a reporter for the Daily Pilot, a Times Community News publication. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. From . Grant Robicheaux, 40, and girlfriend Cerissa Riley, 34, were accused of drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women. She ran to the bathroom and locked herself inside until the morning. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. [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. 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. They slept in these tents; they were camping; they would all sleep in those rooms with bunk bedshostels. We want to hear from you! 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. First they were accused of drugging and raping women while recording their exploits on a cell phone. 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. The pair have both pleaded not guilty to the amended charges. / KCAL News. Before her arrest, Riley worked three different jobssales agent by day, dance instructor by night, and substitute teacher when she could pick up a shift. H-O-O-K, Woodruff explained, it meant to hook peopleto hook people on these little skits.. In May, prosecutors made a request to dramatically scale back the criminal case, . The net worth of Grant is still to get unfold yet. He along with his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley has been charged with drugging and then sexually assaulting two women. Breaking news for Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. But former district attorney Rackauckas denied Spitzers claim that he used the case for political gain. 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). Early life and education Last month, Orange County Superior Court Judge Steven Bromberg dismissed charges related to allegations lodged by two of the seven women after they told prosecutors they had been dragged through the mud by the Orange County district attorneys office and no longer wanted to participate in the case. According to the state attorney general's office, at least three victims said they no longer wanted to partake in the case because they were "dragged through the mud" but the Orange County district attorney's office. Matt Murphy, a former prosecutor in the district attorneys office who is representing four women who have accused Robicheaux and Riley of assaulting them, said Thursday that no one from the attorney generals office has reached out to the women. The couple have pleaded not guilty and denied any nonconsensual sex. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? Bei der Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps verwenden wir, unsere Websites und Apps fr Sie bereitzustellen, Nutzer zu authentifizieren, Sicherheitsmanahmen anzuwenden und Spam und Missbrauch zu verhindern, und, Ihre Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps zu messen, personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte auf der Grundlage von Interessenprofilen anzuzeigen, die Effektivitt von personalisierten Anzeigen und Inhalten zu messen, sowie, unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu entwickeln und zu verbessern. No matter what.. At one time, Robicheaux was charged with seven victims and Riley with five. We are conducting a very thorough and independent review of the case, Martinez said. 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 was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. After the request was granted, only the charges stemming from two alleged victims are still intact. Officials also determined that Kearns should receive additional training on report writing. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern, indem Sie auf unseren Websites und Apps auf den Link Datenschutz-Dashboard klicken. [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. They May Never Get Their Day In Court", "Judge scales back charges against Orange County doctor, girlfriend in sex assault case", "A Wealthy Surgeon Accused Of Drugging And Raping Women Is No Longer Facing Rape Charges", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grant_Robicheaux&oldid=1151980723, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 April 2023, at 12:26. 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. A judge in Orange County heard arguments from attorneys for the couple and for the alleged victims and prosecutors last week, after which one alleged victim said they were "exhausted" by the thought the case could take years to prosecute. Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones refused District Attorney Todd Spitzer's request to dismiss the case outright. Then something changed, Dating in L.A. is exhausting, so I asked a chatbot to flirt for me. It is illegal for a man to have sex with a woman who is incapacitated to give consent., Fish also said the search warrant was not stale because, DNA doesnt change, cell phone accounts from a particular time frame do not change, etc., the focus is on the narcotics., Defense attorneys contended the time frame from July 2017 through January 2018 negate the probability that the drugs will be there. But the judge added, it was not unreasonable nor illogical for the magistrate in this case to find probable cause that those items will be in existence at the locations referenced.. August 26, 2021 / 11:22 AM The judge said he would rule by April 3, CNN affiliate KTLA reported. Ospino also told attorneys that he wants to hold a preliminary hearing by the end of the year to determine whether the case, which has faced repeated delays, can proceed to trial. Grant Robicheaux and girlfriend Cerissa Riley are shown outside an Orange County courthouse in 2018. 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. March 31, 2021 In her new Audiochuck podcast, O.C. [4] As of August 2021, Robicheaux was charged with sexually assaulting two women and Riley was charged with three alleged victims.[2][4][6]. He cited the politics interjected into the case in a tense election between Spitzer and his predecessor, Tony Rackauckas. In court filings, prosecutors have alleged that Kearns omitted pertinent information from reports she wrote about the case and claimed she led a whisper campaign to exaggerate evidence in favor of prosecution. A representative for the attorney generals office could not immediately be reached for further comment. DA Todd Spitzer held a shocking news conference in which he said that he had assigned new prosecutors to the case after he took office, and their review found no evidence of unconscious women being assaulted. 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. An attorney representing the couple declined to comment Friday. All Rights Reserved. The request, however, was denied last year by Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones. The agency launched a probe into Kearns actions and, as part of that inquiry, investigators concluded the review Spitzer ordered had been lacking. 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. 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. If convicted on all counts, Riley faces up to 30 years in state prison; Robicheaux could see up to 40. 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. Dr. Grant Robicheaux and girlfriend Cerissa Riley, pictured in October 2018, were charged with drugging and raping multiple women. Grant Robicheaux, left, and Cerissa Riley, the Newport Beach doctor and his girlfriend accused of drugging and raping multiple women, arrive at Orange County Superior Court Harbor Justice Center . By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

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