A California judge has dismissed the most serious assault charges. Former Bravo TV star Dr. Grant Robicheaux and his model girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, were accused by police of drugging and raping women.
The pair allegedly met their victims at Orange County’s posh celeb haunt Nobu, as well as other bars in the area. The pair then lured the women back to their home on Newport Beach’s Balboa Peninsula.
Both have maintained their innocence since they were arrested in 2018, with their lawyers portraying them as swingers who like to party but who have never had non-consensual sex. Robicheaux, 42, was charged with assaulting five women, Riley, 36, with assaulting three.
Robicheaux, a hand doctor, was previously best known for his appearances on the reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Leversen ruled on Friday that the plaintiffs were “incompetent” and referred to “several different statements over the years” when he told the couple the case would not go to trial. The judge also said that after the encounters, the victims refused to be medically examined.
Dr. Grant Robicheaux, a hand doctor, was formerly best known for his appearances on the reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male, while Cerissa Riley is a former model
The pair were charged with drugging women after meeting them in bars and luring them back to their home in Newport Beach, California, for the purpose of assault.
The defendants, who attended court together, embraced as the decision was read aloud as Riley sobbed the Orange County Registry.
Both are still charged with putting GHB in a woman’s drink and the doctor is still charged with possession of assault weapons and cocaine.
Initially, there were 13 accusers, some of whom would be called as witnesses by the prosecution to demonstrate a pattern of behavior.
Attorney Philip Cohen told the court on Friday that the allegations against Robicheaux were “devastating.”
Cohen also said prosecutors “have a duty not to pursue a criminal case if they have reasonable doubt,” adding that it was “scary” that they intended to pursue charges.
The lawyer also told the judge it took 20 months for a prosecutor to make her accusation.
Cohen also demonstrated data records showing that a prosecutor who claimed she took photos of bruises the day after she met Robicheaux and his girlfriend actually took the photos a month later.
Deputy Attorney General Namita Patel claimed that the prosecutors did not know each other and that their stories of assault mirrored each other.
What is the probability that two women don’t know each other? And what is the motive (to lie)?,” Patel said My news LA.
Prior to Friday’s decision, the court heard numerous investigators detail the allegations against the couple.
Jane Doe 2 claims she met the couple at Nobu Newport Beach over Easter weekend 2017 after connecting with Robicheaux through a dating app
One of the alleged victims claims she met Riley and Robicheaux in Baja Sharkeez on October 2, 2016 while drinking with her roommate
According to reports, Riley openly sobbed as the judge read out his decision that the sexual assault charges would not be brought to trial
Detective Marie Gamble of the Newport Beach Police Department testified as the lead investigator for the allegations of the first woman, who was referred to in court by the pseudonym Jane Doe 1, reports the Orange County Registry.
Gamble stated that Jane Doe 1 met Riley and Robicheaux in Baja Sharkeez on October 2, 2016 while she was drinking with her roommate.
She said they bought her and her roommate drinks, but she “passed out” after a few sips.
She woke up stripped next to her topless roommate at Robicheaux’s house, the court heard.
Unable to wake her roommate, Jane Doe 1 got up and met Robicheaux in a bathroom.
When she asked him what was going on and how they got to the house, she claims that Robicheaux grabbed her by the arms and told her, “You wanted this, you wanted to come back here.”
According to the testimony, Robicheaux tried to kiss Jane Doe 1 and she tried to back off, leading to a struggle that led to him punching her as she fell to the floor.
After Jane yelled Doe 1, Riley walked over and told Robicheaux, “It’s going too far, it’s not worth it.”
Jane Doe’s screams were heard by neighbors, who called 911.
The defendants, who attended court together every day during the trial, hugged each other as the decision was read
The couple was first accused of a series of sexual assaults in 2018
The second alleged victim in the case, Jane Doe 2, had her testimony given by Orange County District Attorney Investigator Jennifer Kearns.
Jane Doe 2 claims she met Robicheaux through a dating app while visiting a friend who lived nearby.
They arranged a date at Nobu Newport Beach over Easter weekend 2017, and she was surprised when Riley was also present.
After a few cocktails, she agreed to go to a local bar with Robicheaux and Riley.
The three of them drank more and Jane Doe 2 took cocaine which Riley offered to her in the bathroom.
The next thing she remembers is walking up the stairs to Robicheaux’s bedroom, the court heard.
She then remembered that Robicheaux and Riley touched her and took off her shirt, after Robicheaux gave her a drink that he had put some kind of substance in it.
The woman remembers crying hysterically as Riley tried to comfort her.
She then locked herself in the bathroom where Riley begged her to open the door, allegedly telling Jane Doe 2 that Robicheaux would hurt them if she didn’t, adding “he’s forcing me to do this.”
The case against Riley and Robicheaux is controversial.
It was first filed by then District Attorney Tony Rackauckas in 2018, but was dethroned by current District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
Spitzer then controversially moved to dismiss the charges, publicly apologized to Robicheaux and Riley and said there was not enough evidence to bring the case.
The women’s lawyers pushed back, arguing that seven different women who had never met had made similar credible allegations against the pair.
A judge denied Spitzer’s request to dismiss the case, describing it as a “backroom rejection” of a case that had been “tainted” by politics.
Two alleged victims withdrew from the case, stating that they had been ‘grossly beaten’ and ‘dragged through the mire’.
A separate judge dismissed the charges involving three other women at the request of the Attorney General, leaving two remaining women.