Judge Maintains Charges Against Reality Show Doc, Girlfriend

NEWPORT BEACH, CA —The district attorney's requested dismissal of sexual assault charges against a former Bravo reality show doctor and his girlfriend was denied by Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones, Friday.

The accused, Dr. Grant Robicheaux, 39, and girlfriend Cerissa Riley, 32, were the focus of a detailed investigation by former Orange County top prosecutor Tony Rackauckas from 2016 to 2018. In a much-publicized call for additional victims, Rackauckas made bold statements about the orthopedic surgeon and his girlfriend, saying they used their "good looks" to lure women home to drug and sexually assault them.

Prosecutors in Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer's office countered, saying that the pair "engaged in a swinger lifestyle and openly pursued scores of women for consensual sexual encounters."

In response, to Jones' refused dismissal, Spitzer released a statement:

“We have represented to the Court on multiple occasions that we do not have the evidence to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore we cannot legally, ethically, and morally proceed with the prosecution of this case,” said Spitzer. “My sworn duty is to pursue justice and ensure that the rights of victims and defendants are protected, and we are reviewing the Court’s ruling to determine the next steps for this case. It is my commitment to those obligations that prompted me declare a conflict in this case in September 2019, and when the state Attorney General directed me to continue handling the case, it is those obligations that prompted me to direct a complete re-evaluation of this case. This was the first time all of the evidence was reviewed. The results of that review were unequivocal – we lack the evidence necessary to prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. As a career-long advocate for victims’ rights and given the facts that our thorough reevaluation revealed, it pains me that the further review– which I requested from the state Attorney General almost a year ago - will only delay this process for the victims in this case and force them to endure further trauma.”

Spitzer outlined in a news conference in February how his office, after an exhaustive review of the evidence in the case, could not find any videos that show the defendants attacking the women. He has been a staunch critic of how the case was handled by Rackauckas at that time, especially when he said there could be hundreds of victims when he announced charges.

Spitzer's quick decision to drop charges was criticized by Attorney Matthew Murphy, a fellow veteran of former DA Rackauckas' office, is representing two of the alleged victims in the case against Robicheaux and Riley.

Murphy has maintained that there is substantial evidence of a conspiracy between the defendants to meet, drug, and rape vulnerable women.

The extreme contrast between the two district attorneys has become the focus of the current court case, and after the denial of dismissal, have brought questions to Judge Jones if the DA's office can adequately prosecute the case.

In February, Spitzer suggested that the charges against the doctor and his girlfriend be dropped due to concerns that Rackauckas used the case for political gain.

On Friday, Jones alerted that the case against Robicheaux and Riley will continue, and will consider next Friday whether the DA's office should be removed from the case.

"The public's confidence pursuing justice would be severely undermined if the District Attorney continues on the matter," Jones said, Friday. He added that he must ensure the integrity of all prosecutions and that no one has filed a motion to recuse the District Attorney is seeking the dismissal.

Judge Jones stated concerns about whether the DA's office would be able to prosecute the case against Robicheaux and Riley properly. The current DA's office says they believe the case to be "manufactured," according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.

Attorney Michael Fell, who represents one of the alleged victims in the case, says, "this is a great day for victims of crimes. It shows that Marsy's Law is alive, Marsy's law is respected, and that victims are able to have their voices heard."

The Attorney General's Office said any conflict was cured by Spitzer's election and declined to take over the case.

Spitzer then reassigned two new prosecutors to the case whose sole job was going over all of the evidence. That review convinced Spitzer that he did not have evidence to proceed, and he asked Jones to dismiss charges. The current District Attorney faces fierce opposition from attorneys representing the alleged victims in the case.

Murphy added, "He has removed the assigned prosecutor in favor of less-experienced counsel; he has terminated employment of the lead investigator, Jennifer Kearns, and then effectively stymied the ongoing investigation by failing to assign a new investigator; he announced his intention to dismiss the case without notifying the victims, and he denigrated the integrity of at least two of these women on national television, without first having met them to assess their credibility; he has tearfully, publicly apologized to the defendants; and he has advanced the motion to dismiss in an effort to shield himself from public criticism, making it impossible for the victims to either defend themselves or to address this court."

Murphy argues that there is enough evidence for continuing forward with the case, including the amount of Gamma Hydroxybutyrate, the date rape drug, found in Robicheaux's home. Police recovered 119 grams of GHB, Murphy said.

Murphy also blasted Philip Cohen, one of the defense attorneys, for courtroom hyperbole and accused him of mischaracterizing the GHB evidence. He also accused Cohen of badgering one alleged victim and her family to the point of making a false gas leak report to "smoke the occupants out of the home" and serve the victim in the civil case.

"This harassment continues to this day," Murphy said.

Murphy charges that Spitzer's "hatred for Tony Rackauckas is so extreme, and his need to hide his own incompetence and unethical behavior on this case is so pressing, that Mr. Spitzer's professional judgment has become irrevocably skewed."

Murphy also accuses Spitzer of working with defense attorneys to leak sensitive information, such as Rackauckas depositions in the civil case, to embarrass his predecessor.

According to Spitzer, two veteran sexual assault prosecutors conducted "a top to bottom review of the case."

Over three months, the two prosecutors reviewed every piece of evidence in the case. The review included:

• Thousands of photographs, videos, and chats from computers.
• Hundreds of hours of audio recordings.
• Thousands of pages of documents.
• Tens of thousands of text messages between the defendants over four years.
• Thousands of text messages between defendants and others, including alleged victims.
• Thousands of conversations on Bumble, Tinder, Facebook, and other social media services.
• Hundreds of emails including from alleged victims, defendants, police, and potential leads.
• Thousands of pages of transcripts of alleged victim interviews, witness interviews, and depositions.

Following its comprehensive review, investigators recommended to the OCDA executive team that all charges should be dismissed.

"Based on the complete review, the OCDA executive team unanimously concurred that the People could not meet their legal burden of proving the charges beyond a reasonable doubt," Spitzer's office says.

Robicheaux is charged in connection with seven alleged victims, while Riley is charged with five. They both maintain their innocence in all charges.

City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.