A California surgeon and his girlfriend at the center of a controversial sex case — in which they claim they are swingers and acccusers say they drugged and sexually assaulted them — will soon find out if they face criminal charges.
A hearing in Orange County court this week featured evidence from two women who claim Dr. Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley assaulted them, one in 2016 and one in 2017.
A judge will make a decision on July 9 as to whether there is enough evidence to go to trial.
During the hearing, victim Jane Doe 1 claimed she was assaulted on Oct. 2, 2016 at the surgeon’s home.
According to the Orange County Register, the woman testified Robicheaux tried to kiss her and hit her when she refused his advances.
Jane Doe 1 then testified Riley told Robicheaux, “It’s going too far, it is not worth it.”
Robicheaux and Riley, who are both free on $1 million bail, have denied the allegations. Defense attorneys said the good-looking couple were “swingers,” only had consensual sex with the women and did not drug them.
Jennifer Kearns, an investigator with the Orange County DA’s Office, testified Jane Doe 2 told her she met Robicheaux and Riley at Nobu Newport Beach resaturant on Easter weekend in 2017.
Kearns said Jane Doe 2 left with the pair to a local bar where she ingested cocaine Riley offered her while they were in the bathroom. The next thing Jane Doe recalled was walking up the stairs of Robicheaux’s home, Kearns testified.
Jane Doe 2 told the investigator Robicheaux and Riley took her shirt off but she was able to lock herself into the bathroom.
Kearns said Jane Doe 2 recalled Riley pleading with her to unlock the bathroom door. Riley allegedly told the victim, “He makes me do this,” the investigator said.
“She was scared, she felt she was not safe, she wasn’t quite in control of her body,” Kearns testified.
Prosecutors also said police found cocaine, MDMA and GHB, known as a “date rape drug,” during a search of Robicheaux’s Newport Beach home. They also found two unregistered assault weapons.
Philip Cohen, Robicheaux’s defense attorney, asked Kearns why she didn’t question Jane 2 about past instances when the woman had been arrested for being drunk in public and DUI.
The defense attorney claimed Jane Doe 2 only came forward with her allegations after the case against the couple garnered national headlines. Cohen also pointed to the inconsistencies in Jane Doe 1’s story.
“One of the critical questions in this case is did this guy or this lady drug her or did she [Jane Doe 1] drink too much and black out,” Cohen said.
The case continued to garner national attention after Robicheaux, who appeared on a short-lived Bravo reality TV show “Online Dating Rituals of the American Male,” and Riley became subjects of a podcast called “O.C. Swingers.”
Former Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackaukas first announced charges against Robicheaux and Riley in 2018 and alleged the couple had met several women at bars, drugged them and then taken them back to Robicheaux’s home where they would sexually assault them.
However, Rackaukas falsely claimed investigators had uncovered hundreds of pictures and of videos which showing women who were intoxicated and engaged in sexual acts.
After Rackaukas left office, current-District Attorney Todd Spitzer accused his predecessor of mishandling the case. Spitzer dismissed the charges against Robicheaux and Riley on February 2020 due to lack of evidence and prosecutorial misconduct.
“There were two individuals [Robicheaux and Riley] who were mistreated by the system, and they didn’t deserve it, because of a re-election [bid from Rackaukas],” Spitzer said during a press conference.
In August 2020 A judge said they were concerned the case had been “infected by politics” and ordered it be turned over to the California Attorney General’s Office. The couple initially faced rape charges, but those have since been dropped.
Since then, two other alleged victims dropped out if the case — leaving two remaining women who claimed they were sexually assaulted in 2016 and 2017.
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