LOS ANGELES — Six more women may be victims of sexual assault by a prominent orthopedic surgeon who was featured in a TV reality dating show, and his girlfriend, authorities said Wednesday.
The six potential victims came forward to authorities after two women alleged that Grant William Robicheaux, 38, and girlfriend Cerissa Laura Riley, 31, lured them from local bars and festivals by drugging and then involving them in sexual acts, the Orange County, California, District Attorney's office reports.
Two of the latest potential victims were from out of state, said office Chief of Staff Susan Kang Schroeder, but they could still testify at a trial. She said the victims met the suspects under different circumstances.
"We are very encouraged that the victims would feel confident in the legal system and come forward," Schroeder said.
Orange County officials suspect Robicheaux and Riley may have traveled together to "various festivals and locations since 2015, including Burning Man in Black Rock Desert, Nevada, Dirtybird Campout Festival in Silverado, California and the Splash House music festival in Palm Springs, California," according to a news release issued by prosecutors earlier this week.
In the Coachella Valley, law enforcement personnel in Palm Springs and Indio said they don't have any information on the suspects and there have been no reports — of the kinds of offenses Robicheaux and Riley are accused of — filed locally.
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said Tuesday there could be many victims, based on videos and photos seized as part of a search of Robicheaux's apartment in Newport Beach, and urged them to step forward. The materials showed other women involved in sex acts with the suspects, including some who appeared to be drunk or drugged.
Robicheaux was featured on a Bravo TV show called "Online Dating Rituals of the American Male." He and Riley were free on bail pending an arraignment scheduled for Oct. 25.
His brief celebrity likely helped him attract women.
Laguna Beach resident Lauren Hayden, 24, said she found Robicheaux last year on the dating app Tinder. She thought he was good looking and saw a flattering article about him. When he invited her over for dinner at his apartment, she accepted and met him on Oct. 11, 2017.
After Robicheaux cooked dinner, they had a glass of wine and later went to his hot tub. Hayden said he began trying to rip her clothes off and force her to his bedroom.
“As I was putting on my clothes, he kept trying to rip them back off,” Hayden recalled in a telephone interview Wednesday. “I smiled and said I had to go and that I found the way he was talking to me to be disrespectful. I even said to him, ‘I don’t think you understand the way you’re coming off is really aggressive and kind of reminds me of previous sexual assault encounters that I’ve had, so I’d appreciate it if you’d stop.’” Robicheaux did not hold her down or force her to do anything after that.
Hayden said she is now thinking of the women he allegedly raped and stressed that what he did to them was not their fault.
“I want something positive to come from this,” Hayden said. “We need policy change around this issue.”
Robicheaux faces charges that include rape by use of drugs, assault with intent to commit sexual offense, possession of drugs with intent to sell and possession of assault weapons. The charges also include having performed oral copulation with victims who were anesthetized.
Robicheaux and Riley, who lives in Brea, California, were each released on a $100,000 bond pending a hearing Oct. 25. Robicheaux's medical practice was based in Newport Beach.
Lawyers representing Robicheaux and Riley could not immediately be reached for comment. "They have been aware of these accusations for a number of months and each of them will formally deny the truth of these allegations at their first opportunity in court," Philip Cohen and Scott Borthwick, attorneys for the defendants, said in a joint statement to various media outlets. "Dr. Robicheaux and Ms. Riley believe that such allegations do a disservice to, and dangerously undermine, the true victims of sexual assault, and they are eager to have the proper spotlight shed on this case in a public trial."
