A Newport Beach orthopaedic surgeon, who appeared on the Bravo reality show Online Dating Rituals of the American Male, had a dating ritual with his girlfriend that involved finding a second woman and drugging and raping her, according to authorities with fears there may be 1,000 victims.
Dr. Grant William Robicheaux, 38, of Newport Beach, is charged with felony rape by use of drugs, oral copulation by anesthesia or controlled substances, assault with intent to commit sexual offenses, four counts of possession of a controlled substance for sale, two counts of possession of an assault weapon and two sentencing enhancements for being personally armed with firearms during health and safety code violations, announced Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas at a disturbing press conference Tuesday.
Cerissa Laura Riley, 31, of Brea, faces the same sexual and drug sale charges as her boyfriend plus a sentencing enhancement for knowingly and vicariously being armed with a firearm.
Here is video of the DA’s presser:
Riley and Robicheaux, who each posted $100,000 bail, are to be arraigned at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach on Oct. 24. If convicted at trial on all the charges they face, the doctor could spend up to 40 years in a state prison cell and his girlfriend could get 30 years behind bars, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s office.
One reason law enforcement fears there could be so many victims is because Riley and Robicheaux may have traveled together to various festivals and locations since 2015, including Burning Man in Black Rock Desert, Nevada; Dirtybird Campout festival in Silverado; Splash House festival in Palm Springs; and landmarks near Page, Arizona.
“Thousands” of videos on Robicheaux’s phone show women who “appear to be highly intoxicated beyond the ability to consent or resist,” Rackauckas said at the press conference. “Based on this evidence, we believe there might be many unidentified victims out there.”
The DA alleged the pair used “their good looks and charm” to disarm victims. “We’ve all heard of a wolf dressed up in sheep’s clothing but a wolf can wear scrubs or doctors clothing or a wolf can be a beautiful woman.”
(Anyone who believes they were victim or has information related to the case against the pair is directed to call OCDA Supervising Investigator Eric Wiseman at 714.347.8794.)
Currently, the charges the pair face are based on the allegations surrounding two women.
Robicheaux and Riley are accused of meeting a 32-year-old woman at a Newport Beach restaurant in April 2016, inviting her to a boat party on the 10th of that month and, once she was intoxicated, escorting her to the surgeon’s Newport Beach apartment.
Once there, they allegedly plied her with multiple drugs and, when her intoxication prevented her from resisting, raped and orally copulated her, prosecutors claim.
The unidentified woman contacted the Newport Beach Police Department the following day, and a forensic exam concluded she tested positive for multiple controlled substances, the OCDA says.
On Oct. 2, 2016, Robicheaux and Riley are accused of drinking alcohol with a second woman at a Newport Beach bar until she was no longer conscious. She was taken by the pair to Robicheaux’s apartment, where she was sexually assaulted “with intent to commit rape,” according to the OCDA.
After the woman awoke and screamed for help, a neighbor called Newport Beach police, who responded and launched an investigation, prosecutors say.
On Jan. 9 of this year, Robicheaux and Riley were in possession of large quantities of illegal drugs that were recovered in the doctor’s residence, says the OCDA, which adds that the surgeon also had two illegal, unregistered assault rifles, four other firearms and several large capacity magazines.
The Newport Beach Police Department submitted the case to the OCDA for review on Sept. 6, and Robicheaux and Riley were arrested at his residence on Sept. 12 without incident.
“People often assume that rapists are creepy, scary men who lunge out from hiding amongst bushes and attack unsuspecting women,” Rackauckas said during the presser. “The reality is that rapists come in all socioeconomic groups, of any background.”
Online Dating Rituals of the American Male, whose stated intent was the follow men who use online tools to hook up with women for everything from one-night stands to serious relationships, had only one, six-episode run from March 9 through April 8, 2014, on Bravo.
Robicheaux appeared in the fifth episode that premiered on April 1, 2014, and what’s really creepy about it in light of the criminal case against him is that he is shown escorting a “date” to an electric Duffy boat, where another couple was already aboard waiting for them. This flabbergasted the woman.
Remember the allegation about a victim being taken to a boat party?
A Hollywood Reporter critic found that the series seemed more interested in showcasing “weird women” than it did in “digging deeper with the men.”
A day after the show’s final episode debuted, Bravo’s online “Daily Dish” posted a follow-up titled “Online Dating’ Stars: Who’s Single and Who’s Still Searching?” Robicheaux, described as a “fan favorite,” was “still searching for Mrs. Right—your move, ladies.”
Next to a photo gallery image of Robicheaux and a female friend (who was not Riley), it reads:
“Things have been great. I’ve had a huge outreach from fans via email, Facebook and my office … like hundreds. … I am still single and even busier than before so dating has not gotten easier. I still tinker with online dating some, but as you know, it can be a lot of work with little reward as people still don’t get misleading someone into a first date will not get them a second and just is a waste of both peoples’ limited time, argh, haha.”
The orthopaedic surgeon has treated sponsored athletes, including some affiliated with the Vans shoe company. He attended New York University, UC Irvine and Louisiana State University School of Medicine.
Here is his online bio:
Dr. Robicheaux is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon per the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery with advanced additional subspecialty training in treating the upper extremity. His emphasis is on bone and soft tissue traumatic and sports related injuries as well as those due to overuse, arthritis and aging. His expertise also extends to athletic and overuse injuries about the lower extremity, as well as joint replacement. By utilizing all non-operative and alternative therapies complimented with minimally invasive and microsurgical techniques Dr. Robicheaux strives to provide a holistic patient specific approach to efficiently improve his patients quality of life.
First attending medical school in New Orleans the soon to be Dr. Robicheaux converted his southern gentlemanly upbringing naturally into a comfortable caring bedside manner. On the way to graduating at the top of his medical school class, he was the school’s Vice-President and the Surgical Society President, along while accumulating numerous awards and scholarships. This allowed him to train at his top choice of Orthopaedic Surgical Residencies, the University of California Irvine, where he excelled in all aspects of Orthopaedic Surgery becoming a Chief Resident.
Upon completion of residency, Dr. Robicheaux was offered an elective year of specialized training in arthroscopy (minimally invasive camera assisted surgery), arthroplasty (joint replacement), complex fracture care, sports injuries and micro-surgical reconstructive techniques at the prestigious NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases where he has named the Administrative Fellow.
Through out his career Dr. Robicheaux has had several publications, given numerous talks and received multiple awards all while staying involved in resident education and training as well as his professional and local communities. He is currently affiliated with the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Society for Surgery of the Hand and the California Orthopaedic Association.
Dr. Robicheaux as well has pursued his passion for international medical volunteerism by founding “Giving In Good Hands Ortho.” This non-profit organization’s mission is that of not only providing medical care to underserved regions, but focuses on teaching those in such regions how to continually provide such care for themselves.
Residing in Orange County, when not caring for his patients or volunteering locally and abroad, Grant enjoys cooking, surfing, tennis, fishing, hiking and mountain biking. He appreciates a healthy active lifestyle and understands the importance of quickly getting his patients back to theirs by combining all necessary treatment modalities.
Besides the criminal matter, Robicheaux now faces a Medical Board of California investigation, Rackauckas disclosed.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.