A cardiologist in Colorado got 158 years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting women he met on dating apps.
Stephen Matthews, 37, found out what would happen to him in court in Denver on Friday.
Local ABC affiliate KMGH reported that District Court Judge Eric Johnson told Matthews, “Mr. Matthews, you know, you have made this world less important.” “You turned down a lot of its lights.” Our society is darker because of you because you’ve hurt it. You made a scandal out of yourself.
A local CBS affiliate, KCNC, said that family members and victims spoke out in court.
Someone who was raped by Matthews called him a “narcissistic monster” and a “serial rapist.”
The victim reportedly told the TV station, “We are now a strong army of survivors, and you are nothing.”
“This was planned out.” It wasn’t about permission. It wasn’t about having sex. It had to do with power. “He used his position and the fact that he used to be a doctor to abuse trust with me and other people,” another victim told the local Fox affiliate KDVR.
Matthews’ lawyer said he is going to appeal the verdict and said that part of the reason for the verdict was that the news media and law firms called Matthews a sexual predator. His parents begged for forgiveness.
His mom told him, “I love you always and no matter what.”
In a statement released after the sentencing, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said, “Mr. Matthews bound and gagged his victims and then sexually assaulted eight of them.” Because those crimes were so horrible, I am very happy with the sentence Judge Johnson gave today.
If anyone in Denver does something bad like what Mr. Matthews did, I hope this sentence lets them know that my office will punish them to the fullest extent of the law. DA McCann also said, “I hope that today’s sentence brings some comfort to all of Mr. Matthews’ victims.
Their bravery in coming forward led to this good outcome.” Last but not least, I want to thank the detectives, prosecutors, victim advocates, paralegals, and investigators from my office as well as the Denver Police Department for their great work on the case.
A statement from the Denver District Attorney’s Office says that Matthews was found guilty on all but three of the 38 sexual assault charges that were brought against him.
He wasn’t found guilty of sexual assault — not knowing what was going on, sexual assault — being physically helpless, or sexual assault — forcing someone to submit against their will.
The prosecutors say that between 2019 and 2023, at least 11 women were drugged and sexually assaulted. In March 2023, Matthews was arrested for the first time after a woman said he drugged and sex assaulted her after a date.
In April 2023, he was arrested again and charged again after nine more women said the same thing. By October, more than a dozen victims had come forward.
The Denver Post reported that some of Matthews’ victims said they had no idea how they ended up in his house or how they got there. One woman who didn’t go on a second date with Matthews said that the ex-doctor sent her naked pictures of herself as a response to being turned down.
In court, a former Denver district attorney called Matthews “one of the most prolific serial rapists in the history of the state of Colorado.” This was because the 36-year-old man attacked so many women.
Eleven women went to court to testify against him, saying that he met them on dating apps when he was a heart doctor. He always did the same thing: he’d ask them to go on a date near his house, then he’d invite them inside for something harmless.
Some of Matthews’ victims said he told them he had to walk his dog before he would let him into his home for a short time.
The women said it got dark after that. When the women got inside, Matthews would offer them a drink. After that, he might make them play a board game or try to get them to stay with him in some other way.
The prosecutor who spoke at the trial, Bree Beasley, told the jury that this was all part of Matthews’ evil plan.
It stands out to her when the defendant says, “No, just stay for five more minutes.” This is because the defendant knows how quickly this is going to happen. He knows that she will give up in five minutes if she doesn’t. He did it. Because the next thing she remembers is screaming, “What did you do?,” as she wakes up naked on the floor. KDVR reported that Beasley said, “She’s scared.”
The women told the jurors that it was hard, if not impossible, for them to remember what happened next, but it was always horrible.
One woman told police that all she remembered was waking up naked and handcuffed to the couch in Matthews’ house and throwing up.
Stephen Matthews abused approximately twelve women in the worst manner imaginable, and he will now have to pay a big price for it. Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said, “I hope today’s verdict brings some comfort to all the victims. Their courage throughout this case should be an example for us all.”
One of the women who said Matthews raped her was cross-examined very hard. At one point, she told his defense lawyer that she had sent him a text message saying she thought she had been drugged but added, “I don’t think it was you.”
KCNC, a local CBS affiliate, says she said she was sorry for drinking and that it made her feel bad.
The woman’s lawyers quickly used this to suggest that she was pulling her own trick and was trying to bait Matthews because she felt bad about herself.
