Reality TV doctor, girlfriend charged with rape 'after working together to find victims'
A reality TV doctor and his girlfriend have been arrested and charged with raping two women in a series of disturbing offences that police believe could involve ‘hundreds’ of other victims.
Orthopaedic surgeon Grant W Robicheaux, 38, and Cerissa Laura Riley, 31, both from California, were arrested on September 12 after being charged with rape by use of drugs, oral copulation by anaesthesia or controlled substance, and other crimes.
Orange County district attorney Tony Rackauckas said that investigators were meticulously going through “thousands and thousands of videos and images on Robicheaux’s phone, many also including Riley”.
Some videos show women who “appear to be highly intoxicated beyond the ability to consent or resist, and they’re barely responsive to the defendant’s sexual advances”.
“Based on this evidence, we believe that there might be many unidentified victims out there,” Mr Rackauckas said.
The district attorney showed reporters video of Robicheaux from a now-cancelled Bravo TV show called Online Dating Rituals Of The American Male in an episode titled Three’s A Crowd.
“We believe the defendants used their good looks and charm to lower the inhibitions of their potential prey,” he said.
The two women who were allegedly assaulted met the pair during social encounters.
“Women who have encountered these two might have felt a false sense of security due to the fact that both defendants are clean cut, good-looking,” the district attorney added.
“We tend to trust doctors who take an oath to do no harm. The second defendant, being a female, is key.
“A woman purporting to be his girlfriend clearly played a significant role in disarming the victims, making them feel comfortable and safe.”
According to prosecutors, Robicheaux and Riley met a 32-year-old woman at a Newport Beach restaurant on April 10, 2016, invited her to a party and then escorted her to Robicheaux’s apartment when she was intoxicated.
The pair allegedly gave the victim multiple drugs and then sexually assaulted her while she was incapable of resisting.
The woman called police the next day, and a forensic exam found multiple controlled substances.
On October 2, 2016, the defendants allegedly drank alcohol with another woman at a Newport Beach bar until she was unconscious, brought her to Robicheaux’s apartment and sexually assaulted her.
The district attorney’s office said the victim awakened and screamed for help until a neighbour called police, who began an investigation.
Other charges against the two allege large amounts of illegal drugs were found in Robicheaux’s residence in January 2018.
Robicheaux is also accused of possessing two illegal, unregistered assault rifles, four other firearms and several large-capacity magazines.
Robicheaux and Riley have been released on $100,000 (AUD$138,000) bail.
