No gag order in Newport Beach surgeon’s rape case, judge says

Lawyers involved in the case of a Newport Beach surgeon and his girlfriend who are accused of a series of drug-fueled sexual assaults will not be held to a gag order, an Orange County Superior Court judge said during a hearing Thursday.

Judge Gregory Jones said he had specifically directed the prosecution and defense last month to prepare briefs — filed under seal — to help him decide whether all charges against Dr. Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley should be dropped, as both the defense and Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer say they should.

Jones said the case has already been heavily publicized since Spitzer’s predecessor, Tony Rackauckas, announced charges in September 2018.

“There is no gag order on this case. It is not my intention to do that,” Jones said. “At this point, the horses are already out of the barn.”

Neither Robicheaux nor Riley attended Thursday’s hearing.

After a Feb. 7 hearing on whether to dismiss the charges, Jones held off on issuing a ruling until April 3.

That hearing was held a few days after Spitzer dropped a bombshell, saying that, because of insufficient evidence, he wanted to drop all charges against the pair related to allegations that they had lured, drugged and raped multiple women.

Defense attorneys sought clarification on the seal issue after an attorney for four of the accusers filed an unsealed motion last month against dismissal.

The defense lambasted the filing by attorney Matt Murphy as being prejudicial.

Jones said Thursday that Murphy’s document summarized what was already in the public domain.

Murphy and another accuser’s attorney, Michael Fell, said the defense team wanted a gag order to muzzle victims who have a right to be heard.

Defense attorney Philip Kent Cohen said he wanted the opposite of a gag order — he wanted to release the substance of accusers’ statements, though not identifying personal details, as “the defense should be able to tell their story.”

Jones said there was nothing preventing that.

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