DENVER — Women who say a cardiologist drugged and sexually assaulted them want to file a lawsuit. They claim they reported Stephen Matthews, 35, to the dating apps he used as early as 2019, but he was allowed to stay on and connect with more women.
Denver prosecutors have now charged Matthews with more than 30 felony counts. 16 women have accused Matthews of drugging them on a date, and some say he raped them.
Police initially arrested Matthews in March for sexually assaulting and drugging one female. Officers arrested him again in May after nine more women made similar accusations. He was charged with more crimes in June after a total of 16 women came forward.
As more people learned about the case against Matthews, the calls to Burg Simpson Law Firm kept coming.
"We have been getting phone calls almost every day of the week," said attorney Stephen Burg.
Burg is preparing his own case separate from the criminal one against Matthews in Denver. He's representing women who say Matthews drugged and sexually assaulted them after meeting him on a dating app. The women say they reported Matthews to the companies years ago.
"There were multiple reports to the different dating apps early on in the process letting them know he is a rapist, and he is a dangerous individual and he continued to be on the dating websites," he said.
Burg said some of his clients reported Matthews to the apps, which are owned by Match Group, as early as 2019. An arrest affidavit said some women found him on Hinge or Tinder years later. The women involved in the first arrest of Matthews said she went on a date with Matthews in January 2023.
Court documents say she told police Matthews made her a drink and then she began to feel poorly. She had no memory from noon until almost 10 p.m., the arrest affidavit says, and she claimed Matthews had sexually assaulted her.
"A company is told that this individual is a predator, is a rapist, is a danger, and they took no action," claimed Burg. "And this was totally preventable."
Burg said the women who reported Matthews were told he would be removed from the apps, and that didn't happen.
Now Burg is planning to file a civil lawsuit.
"We have seen a lot of proof reaching out directly to the dating apps," Burg said. "Talk is cheap. Right now on their website they talk about safety being a priority. They talk about taking it seriously."
Burg's clients felt ignored, and now they want the apps to take notice.
"Make an impact, make sure something like this doesn't happen again," he said.
Burg said some of his clients are involved in the criminal case against Matthews. He's still in jail on $5 million bond.
9NEWS reached out to Match Group on Thursday night and as of Thursday we are still waiting to hear back.
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