Prosecutor Drops Charges Against Physician And Girlfriend Accused Of Serial Rape

The Orange County, Calif., region lawyer states he could be dropping fees against a Newport Beach physician and their gf who had previously been accused of drugging and intimately assaulting multiple ladies.

District Attorney Todd Spitzer stated that overview of the way it is – including thousands of pictures and a huge selection of videos – discovered “no provable proof” that give Robicheaux, 39, and Cerissa Riley, 33, committed any offense that is sexual. Robicheaux, a surgeon that is orthopedic Newport Beach, had formerly showed up regarding the Bravo television show on line Dating Rituals regarding the American Male.

The actual situation received attention that is significant 2018 whenever then-District Attorney Tony Rackauckas held a press seminar for which Robicheaux and Riley had been accused of numerous felonies. Authorities stated the defendants would satisfy females, buy them intoxicated, then rape them at Robicheaux’s apartment, usually recording movie associated with the encounters. Robicheaux and Riley deny the allegations.

Rackauckas stated then that police were reviewing a large number of videos on Robicheaux’s phone, some of which included Riley.

“there are many videos in which the ladies in the videos be seemingly very intoxicated, beyond the capability to consent or resist, and they are scarcely tuned in to the defendants’ intimate improvements,” Rackauckas stated during the time, in which he create a call for any other ladies who was victims to make contact with their workplace. Five extra females later arrived ahead, causing extra felony costs against Robicheaux and Riley.

But as Spitzer went for the region lawyer post in 2018, he criticized the statements that are pretrial by Rackauckas. Spitzer’s workplace says Rackauckas admitted in a sworn deposition in June 2019 to utilising the situation to greatly help their reelection campaign.

A note happens to be delivered to Rackauckas’ legislation workplace looking for comment.

Just last year, Spitzer asked for that their state lawyer general’s workplace consider overtaking prosecution associated with the instance over issues of the recognized conflict of great interest, however the state declined.

Spitzer then had two prosecutors in the office reevaluate every one of the proof in the event, including pictures, videos, documents, chat messages on dating apps, email messages, and transcripts from target and witness interviews and depositions.

“There is not just one bit of proof or video clip or picture that presents an unconscious or incapacitated girl being intimately assaulted. Not just one,” Spitzer stated at a news seminar Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.

Spitzer claims that finding led to their choice to inquire of all costs to be fallen in case.

A lawyer for Robicheaux, Philip Kent Cohen, told the AP that your choice had been thrilling in which he hoped their customer could reconstruct his life. But he stated, ” The filing that is mere of situation has damaged irreparably two life.”

Michael Fell, a legal professional representing one of many so-called victims, stated their customer will be devastated because of the news headlines. “My customer thinks along with of her heart she ended up being intimately assaulted,” he told the AP. “that does not alter exactly just exactly what she experienced.”

Prosecutors to drop rape prices for physician from truth television

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Prosecutors are intending to drop rape and kidnapping fees against A ca medical practitioner whom starred in a truth television show that is dating their gf after saying that key video evidence didn’t actually occur.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer will ask a judge in Newport Beach, Ca, on Friday to dismiss the way it is against orthopedic doctor Grant Robicheaux — whom formerly showed up for a Bravo TV show called “Online Dating Rituals regarding the United states Male” — and his gf Cerissa Riley.

Spitzer carried out overview of the fees filed by their predecessor Tony Rackauckas after accusing him of utilizing the high-profile instance to drum up promotion throughout the pair’s contentious electoral promotions.

Spitzer said videos that Rackauckas announced to your news in September 2018 didn’t really depict intercourse crimes and therefore the accusers’ accounts couldn’t be corroborated adequately to show the costs in court.

Your decision has devastated accusers, whom stated the move will discourage females from reporting intimate attack.

“It’s just absurd for him to state, ‘we are likely to dismiss every one of these costs since there is no movie.’ There’s never video,” stated Dan Gilleon, a legal professional for just one associated with the accusers who may have sued the defendants.

“Like many region lawyers, he claims he’s a champ of victims to obtain elected, but that’s simply a number of phoney campaign message. Their actions reveal he could perhaps maybe not care less about these victims,” Gilleon stated.

Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s workplace, refuted the commentary and stated the lawsuit filed by Gilleon was in fact utilized from the victims associated with the so-called criminal situation.

The situation grabbed headlines briefly before Spitzer had been elected region lawyer into the coastal county wedged between l . a . and north park, overpowering a working office rocked by a jailhouse informant scandal.

The research goes back to 2016, whenever police took reports of two incidents in Newport Beach but didn’t refer them for prosecution.

The year that is following prosecutors had been notified there is a DNA match for proof from a rape kit. The match wasn’t to your defendants, nonetheless it led the workplace to your authorities reports, Spitzer stated.

Authorities searched Robicheaux’s house within the community that is upscale of Beach and discovered drugs, weapons and pictures and videos. Rackauckas held a news seminar to announce the full instance and stated detectives had been sifting through huge number of videos and pictures, some that revealed women that had been hardly responsive.

Their reviews received news attention, in addition to the following month, prosecutors filed additional charges on the part of five more accusers.

After Gilleon’s customer filed the suit that is civil Rackauckas ended up being deposed and told solicitors, in accordance with Spitzer, which he had hoped the fees up against the medical practitioner along with his gf would draw promotion during their re-election campaign.

Spitzer asked their state Attorney General’s workplace to take the prosecution over, citing anxiety about a conflict of great interest, but had been told he should continue. After their review, he announced he had decided to drop the charges, saying the evidence was insufficient tuesday.

Rackauckas didn’t get back a note kept previously this about the allegations week.

Spitzer — a previous state lawmaker whom chaired a campaign for a California law offering victims more legal legal legal legal rights — stated he’d speak to accusers to review their choice when they desired before Friday. He additionally urged assault that is sexual to submit rape kits to simply help prosecute more instances.

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