DENVER — A former Denver cardiologist convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women after meeting them on dating apps like Hinge and Tinder was sentenced Friday to 158 years in prison.
Stephen Matthews, 37, was arrested in March 2023 after a woman reported he had assaulted her after they went to brunch. After her story was made public, more women came forward to report they were victimized by Matthews. Eleven victims testified against him at his trial.
Matthews' trial began on July 15. Several victims testified that they suffered memory loss after their encounters with Matthews. Family members and friends of some of the victims testified that the victims appeared abnormally drunk or disheveled after meeting Matthews.
Many of the victims believed they were drugged, but Matthews' defense team noted that investigators found no physical evidence of drugging and said no drugs were found in his home when it was searched. They also said many of the victims never got a sexual assault exam, known as SANE.
Prosecutors admitted no drugs were found in the home, but said investigators did find hidden packages of Plan B and contraceptives.
In August, a jury found Matthews guilty on 35 of 38 counts in Denver District Court.
On Friday, Matthews received the maximum sentence of 158 years in prison.
“Mr. Matthews incapacitated his victims and then sexually assaulted eight of them," Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said in a release. "Given the despicable nature of those crimes, I am very pleased with the sentence imposed today by Judge Johnson. I hope this sentence sends the message to everyone in Denver that people who take advantage of others in the way that Mr. Matthews did will be prosecuted by my office to the fullest extent of the law. I also hope today’s sentence provides a measure of comfort to all of Mr. Matthews’ victims, whose courage in coming forward resulted in this successful outcome. Finally, I want to thank the prosecutors, investigators, victim advocates and paralegals from my office, as well as the detectives from the Denver Police Department, for their outstanding work on the case.”
