More women allege sexual assaults by Newport Beach surgeon who appeared on Bravo reality show and his girlfriend
A day after prosecutors announced that a well-known Newport Beach surgeon and his girlfriend were charged with drugging and raping two women, several other potential victims contacted investigators, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Wednesday.
The DA’s office has received more than 30 calls, including at least six “strong leads” regarding potential sexual assault victims tied to the investigation of Grant William Robicheaux and Cerissa Laura Riley, said Susan Kang Schroeder, the DA’s chief of staff.
Investigators still are combing through thousands of images and videos of apparently intoxicated women believed to have been filmed by Robicheaux and Riley, Schroeder said. The videos – along with the pair’s travels to a variety of high-profile festivals across the country – led prosecutors on Tuesday to hold a news conference asking anyone with information, or who believes they may have been a victim, to come forward.
Robicheaux, 38, of Newport Beach and Riley, 31, of Brea each face more than a half-dozen felonies, including rape by use of drugs, assault with intent to commit a sexual offense and possession of a controlled substance for sale.
Attorneys for Robicheaux – a orthopedic surgeon who appeared on the Bravo television show “Online Dating Rituals of the American Male” – and Riley, who was once an aspiring educator, have denied that any non-consensual sex occurred.
District Attorney Tony Rackauckas on Tuesday said women may have felt a “false sense of security” around the couple since they are “clean cut and good looking.”
The pair are accused of sexually assaulting one woman in April 2016 and a second in October 2016, both times meeting them in a Newport Beach restaurant or bar before bringing them back to Robicheaux’s apartment. The first woman contacted police the day after the sexual encounter, while prosecutors allege the second woke up while being sexually assaulted and screamed for help, leading a neighbor to call police.
Detectives in 2016 didn’t initially have enough evidence to make an arrest, but continued to look into the incidents. They got a search warrant for Robicheaux’s residence in January, where prosecutors say investigators discovered large quantities of drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine.
DA officials have urged people to come forward, even if they agreed to party with the couple or take “intoxicating substances” with them. Such actions “do not give them a pass to have sex with you when you are past the point of consent,” Rackauckas said during Tuesday’s news conference.
“You shouldn’t be ashamed to come forward,” Schroeder said.
More work is needed to determine whether additional charges will be filed against Robicheaux and Riley in connection to the women who have come forward, Schroeder said, including corroborating their stories and looking through the digital information the DA investigators have amassed. Of the women who have already contacted the DA’s office, two live out of state, and one out of the country, Schroeder added.
Robicheaux and Riley, who are free on bond, are scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 25. If convicted of the current charges, Robicheaux faces up to 40 years in state prison, while Riley faces up to 30 years and eight months.