California Doctor and Girlfriend Accused of Sexual Assault Case
@ericmontes101
On September 12, 2018, a well-known Newport Beach surgeon and female accomplice were charged with sexual assault, drugging, and rapping two women.
Grant William Robicheaux, 38, and Cerissa Riley, 31, have been charged with felony counts of rape by use of drugs, assault with intent to commit a sexual offense and possession of a controlled substance for sale. Videos of intoxicated women were also confiscated from Robicheaux's apartment. According to the Orange County District Attorney’s office, Robicheaux has also been charged with possession of an assault weapon twice.
On September 18, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said that the couple attended festivals, bars and parties. They would use these social gatherings to meet their victims, drug them to the point of unconsciousness and assault them at Robicheaux’s apartment. Videos and photos were found on Robicheaux’s phone that shows women believed to have been recorded by the pair having sex acts.
The first assault occurred in April 2016. According to the prosecutors, Robicheaux and Riley met a 32-year-old woman at a Newport Beach restaurant, invited her to a pool party, and once she was intoxicated they took her to Robicheaux’s apartment and raped her, prosecutors say. The next day, she contacted the police department and underwent a forensic examination, which tested positive for multiple controlled substances.
The second assault happened in October 2016, prosecutors say, Robicheaux and Riley met another woman at a Newport Beach bar. The pair drank with the woman until she was unconscious. They brought her back to Robicheaux’s apartment with the intent of raping her, but she suddenly awoke and screamed for help, causing the neighbor to call the police, prosecutor's say.
Robicheaux was an undergraduate at Louisiana State University and then graduated from its medical school in 2007. He has been licensed to practice medicine in California since 2009 and works at Newport Care Medical Group.
In addition to his work, in 2014 Robicheaux appeared in the reality tv series on Bravo “Online Dating Rituals of the American Male,” where the physician has a plan “to find the perfect woman, have a fantasy wedding and raise the all-American family,” according to the Bravo websites.
At a news press conference on September 21, Rackauckas said,that more than half a dozen women have come forward stating they are victims and have received calls from potential victims from other cities. He urged women to come forward and vowed to safeguard their identities.
Philip Cohen and Scott Borthwick, attorneys representing the couple, said in a statement that they are aware of these accusations and want to prove they're innocent until they have the opportunity at court.
“Dr. Robicheaux and Ms. Riley believe that such allegations do a disservice to, and dangerously undermine … they are eager to have the proper spotlight shed on this case in public trial.”
Robicheaux faces up to 40 years in state prison if convicted, and Riley faces up to 30 years and eight months. Both were released from custody on $100,000 each and are scheduled for court appearance on October 25.