Advertisement

Southern California surgeon, girlfriend charged with raping 2 women

By Nicholas Sakelaris

Sept. 19 (UPI) -- A well-known Southern California surgeon and his girlfriend are facing sex assault charges, authorities say for drugging and raping at least two women.

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Grant William Robicheaux and Cerissa Laura Riley were charged last week in the two cases. Tuesday, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said at a news conference authorities are asking other potential victims to come forward.

Advertisement

The district attorney said the couple looked like "clean-cut, good-looking people," but colluded to seduce and assault women they met at bars and local festivals.

Robicheaux, 38, serves largely wealthy clients in the Newport Beach area, 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles. He is also known for appearing on the reality program Online Dating Rituals of the American Male, which aired on Bravo.

Prosecutors say the couple would allow the victims to become intoxicated and slip in a date rape drug. At least some of the encounters were recorded on video, Rackauckas said.

Advertisement

Robicheaux and Riley are charged with assault with rape and intent to commit sexual offense. Robicheaux is also charged with possession of an assault weapon.

Prosecutors said two women have come forward with accusations -- and investigators have found more than 1,000 videos and photos on the surgeon's cellphone. Women in the videos were in various states of consciousness, officials said.

"It appears they are highly intoxicated beyond the ability to consent or resist, they are barely responsive to the defendants' sexual advances," Rackauckas said.

One of the women said she met the couple at a boat party in April 2016, and a blood sample later tested positive for multiple controlled substances. The other accuser told police she was taken to Robicheaux's apartment six months later after a night of heavy drinking.

A search of the Robicheaxu's home found illegal drugs, including the date rape drug GHB, Rackauckas said.

Defense attorneys Scott Borthwick and Philip Cohen said the accusations are untrue.

"Dr. Robicheaux and Ms. Riley believe that such allegations do a disservice to, and dangerously undermine, the true victims of sexual assault, and they are eager to have the proper spotlight shed on this case in a public trial," they said.

Advertisement

Robicheaux and Riley were released on $100,000 bail. Robicheaux was named Orange County's "Most Eligible Bachelor" by Orange Coast Magazine in 2013.

During a news conference Tuesday, Rackauckas showed video clips of Robicheaux from the reality television show in 2014.

"I am not looking for a party girl. I am looking for a wife to raise a family with," he said on the show. "I just won the title of 'Orange County's Most Eligible Bachelor.' I am trying to find that amazing beautiful woman."

Riley, 31, said in a different video shown by the district attorney that she's pursuing a teaching certification in physical education.

Latest Headlines