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US surgeon and girlfriend suspected of committing 'hundreds' of drug rapes

'We believe the defendants used good looks and charm to lower inhibitions of potential prey,' says district attorney

Adam Forrest
Thursday 20 September 2018 01:28 BST
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Orange County DA Tony Rackauckas says charges have been brought against Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley

A reality TV star surgeon and his girlfriend may have committed hundreds of sexual assault, investigators in California have claimed.

Grant William Robicheaux, 38, and Cerissa Laura Riley, 31, have been charged with rape using drugs and sexual assault after two women came forward.

But Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said hundreds of videos taken from the defendants’ phones suggest there could be many more alleged victims.

Mr Rackauckas said women seen in the videos “appear to be highly intoxicated, beyond the ability to consent or resist and they are barely responsive to the defendants’ sexual advances.

“Based on this evidence we believe there might be many unidentified victims out there.

“We believe the defendants used their good looks and charm to lower the inhibitions of their potential prey,” he added.

Mr Robicheaux – an orthopaedic surgeon from Newport Beach – once appeared on an American reality show called Online Dating Rituals of the American Male.

He and his partner are accused of working “in tandem” to sexually assault two women they met in 2016.

Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley

A 32-year-old woman said the pair took her back to Mr Robicheaux’s apartment after meeting them at a restaurant and going with them to a beach party on 10 April. She has alleged she was raped.

The unnamed woman tested positive for a number of unspecified drugs after contacting Newport Beach police the following day.

Another unnamed woman said she woke up at Mr Robicheaux’s apartment after drinking with the couple at a Newport Beach bar until she lost consciousness. She screamed after waking until a neighbour called the police.

In the second case, alleged to have taken place 2 October, both defendants have been charged with sexual assault with intent to commit rape.

Mr Robicheaux and Ms Riley also face drugs possession charges after the date rape drug GHB, psychedelic mushrooms, ecstasy and cocaine were found at the surgeon’s home in January 2018.

If convicted on the various charges, Mr Robicheaux could spend 40 years in jail and Ms Riley could be given a 30-year sentence, according to the district attorney.

“It’s important to understand that rapists can look like anyone, they can be anyone,” said Mr Rackauckas.

“People often assume that rapists are creepy, scary men who lunge out from hiding amongst bushes and attack unsuspecting women. The reality is that rapists come in all socioeconomic groups, of any background.”

Mr Rackauckas encouraged other potential victims to come forward.

Orange County prosecutors said they had received dozens of new leads in the hours after the attorney general’s press conference.

California’s medical board has opened an inquiry into Mr Robicheaux, but there is no evidence as yet that his surgical patients could be victims of sexual assault.

Both Mr Robicheaux and Ms Riley have been released from police custody on $100,000 (£76,000) bail bonds. They are due to be arraigned on 25 October.

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