Judge drops nearly all charges against reality TV star surgeon who allegedly drugged and raped women

Surgeon was at one time the subject of Bravo reality TV show focused on his dating escapades

A judge in Orange County, California, has approved a request to drop almost all counts against a surgeon and his girlfriend who have been accused of drugging and raping multiple women. After the request was granted, only the charges stemming from two alleged victims are still intact.

CBS Los Angeles reported that Grant Robicheaux, who was once the subject of a Bravo reality show for his dating escapades, was originally accused by seven women of rape and sexual assault.

According to prosecutors, Mr Robicheaux and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, lured women into their lives, drugged them and raped them. Both had denied any wrong doing.

Originally Mr Robicheaux faced 16 felony charges from the victims, and Ms Riley faced five charges.

A judge in Orange County heard arguments from attorneys for the couple and for the alleged victims and prosecutors last week, after which one alleged victim said they were "exhausted" by the thought the case could take years to prosecute.

Over the past three years of the case, the lawsuit has been subject to political infighting between the former and current district attorney. According to the state attorney general's office, at least three victims said they no longer wanted to partake in the case because they were "dragged through the mud" but the Orange County district attorney's office.

Charges relating to two of the women were dropped in July at request of the alleged victims, according to BuzzFeed News. After the charges were dropped, Orange County Superior Court Judge Steven Bromberg recused himself from the case.

At one point the California Attorney General's Office took over the case from the Orange County District Attorney's Office after it determined that District Attorney Todd Spitzer and Tony Rackauckas, a political rival and his predecessor, used the case to further their own political ambitions.

When Mr Rackauckas was overseeing the case, he incorrectly predicted that there could be as many as 1,000 victims. Mr Spitzer, who was campaigning against Mr Rackauckas at the time, accused the district attorney of delaying the couple's arrest to drum up media coverage, which he alleged would help his opponent's campaign.

The then-district attorney admitted that media attention would help his re-election but denied making any decisions based on his political aspirations.

Last February, after Mr Spitzer ousted Mr Rackauckas, he announced his intention to drop the charges against the couple and compelled prosecutors to apologise to the couple and question the claims of the victims.

Another judge at the time said he would refuse to drop the charges, calling Mr Spitzer's decision "ludicrous" and questioning the district attorney's possible motives for the move.