Judge holds off dismissing charges for doctor from TV show

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — A California judge on Friday declined to immediately dismiss rape and kidnapping charges against a doctor who appeared on a reality TV show and his girlfriend even as prosecutors said they don’t have enough evidence to prove the case.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones said he needed to learn more about the evidence against Grant Robicheaux — who previously appeared on a Bravo TV show called “Online Dating Rituals of the American Male” —and Cerissa Riley, to determine if dismissing the case is “in the furtherance of justice” and noted guns and drugs were found on a search of the surgeon’s Newport Beach home.

He asked for prosecutors, defence lawyers and attorneys for two accusers to brief him and said he would rule April 3 on District Attorney Todd Spitzer’s request to drop the case. Spitzer has long accused his predecessor of using the case to draw publicity in his reelection bid.

“Politics have infected this case, and mixing politics with prosecution gives you a toxic cocktail, and that is part of the problem here,” Jones said during an unusual hearing.

The decision came three days after Spitzer called a news conference and announced he wanted to drop the charges filed against the pair in 2018 because key video evidence that had been touted by the former district attorney didn’t show a crime.

Authorities previously said Robicheaux and Riley plied their victims with drugs and sexually assaulted them when they were incapable of resisting.

Amy Taxin, The Associated Press