Prosecutor Drops Charges Against Physician And Girlfriend Accused Of Serial Rape

Prosecutor Drops Charges Against Physician And Girlfriend Accused Of Serial Rape

The Orange County, Calif., region lawyer claims he could be dropping costs against a Newport Beach medical practitioner and their gf who had previously been accused of drugging and intimately assaulting multiple females.

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 sexual offense. Robicheaux, an orthopedic doctor in Newport Beach, had formerly showed up from the Bravo tv program on the web Dating Rituals regarding the American Male.

The outcome received significant attention in 2018 whenever then-District Attorney Tony Rackauckas held a press meeting for which Robicheaux and Riley had been accused of numerous felonies. Authorities stated the defendants would satisfy ladies, have them intoxicated, then rape them at Robicheaux’s apartment, frequently recording movie for the encounters. Robicheaux and Riley deny the allegations.

Rackauckas stated then that police were reviewing 1000s of videos on Robicheaux’s phone, some of including Riley.

“there are numerous videos where in fact the feamales 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 at ukrainian bride scams that time, in which he create a call for any other women that might have been victims to get hold of their workplace. Five women that are additional arrived ahead, leading to extra felony fees against Robicheaux and Riley.

But as Spitzer went for the region lawyer post in 2018, he criticized the pretrial statements made by Rackauckas. Spitzer’s workplace says Rackauckas admitted in a sworn deposition in 2019 to using the case to help his reelection campaign june.

An email is delivered to Rackauckas’ legislation workplace searching for remark.

This past year, Spitzer asked for that their state lawyer general’s workplace consider overtaking prosecution associated with situation over issues of the identified conflict of great interest, however the state declined.

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

“there isn’t an individual little bit of proof or video clip or picture that displays an unconscious or woman that is incapacitated intimately assaulted. Not merely one,” Spitzer stated at a news seminar Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.

Spitzer claims that finding led to their choice to inquire of all fees become fallen in case.

A lawyer for Robicheaux, Philip Kent Cohen, told the AP that the decision had been thrilling and then he hoped their customer could reconstruct their life. But he stated, ” The filing that is mere of instance has damaged irreparably two everyday lives.”

Michael Fell, legal counsel representing one of many victims that are alleged stated their customer is devastated because of the news. “My customer thinks along with of her heart she had been intimately assaulted,” he told the AP. “that does not alter just just exactly exactly what she had.”

Prosecutors to drop rape costs for medical practitioner from truth television

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Prosecutors are preparing to drop rape and kidnapping costs against A california physician whom starred in a truth TV show that is dating their gf after stating 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 outcome against orthopedic doctor Grant Robicheaux — whom formerly showed up for a Bravo TV show called “Online Dating Rituals of this 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 situation 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 that the accusers’ accounts couldn’t be corroborated adequately to show the costs in court.

Your decision has devastated accusers, whom said the move will discourage ladies from reporting assault that is sexual.

“It’s just absurd for him to state, ‘we are likely to dismiss all those costs since there is no movie.’ There’s never video,” stated Dan Gilleon, legal counsel for example associated with the accusers who has got sued the defendants.

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

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

The outcome grabbed headlines fleetingly before Spitzer had been elected region lawyer when you look at the coastal county wedged between l . a . and north park, overpowering 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 clearly was a DNA match for proof from a rape kit. The match wasn’t to your defendants, nonetheless it led the working workplace to your police reports, Spitzer stated.

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

Their remarks received news attention, therefore the the following month, prosecutors filed additional costs on the part of five more accusers.

After Gilleon’s client filed the civil suit, Rackauckas had been deposed and told solicitors, in accordance with Spitzer, he had hoped the costs resistant to the medical practitioner along with his gf would draw promotion during their re-election campaign.

Spitzer asked their state Attorney General’s workplace to just just 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 early in the day this about the allegations week.

Spitzer — a state that is former whom chaired a campaign for a California legislation offering victims more legal legal legal rights — stated he’d talk with accusers to examine their choice when they desired before Friday. He additionally urged intimate attack victims to submit rape kits to aid prosecute more instances.

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