DENVER (Scripps News Denver) — A former Denver cardiologist charged with drugging and sexually assaulting nearly a dozen women was found guilty by a jury on Tuesday on all but three counts brought against him.
Stephen Matthews was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women. (Denver Police Dept. via Scripps News Denver)
Stephen Matthews, 35, was arrested in March of 2023 after a woman first reported to Denver police she was drugged during a brunch date and then sexually assaulted at his home.
Two months later, Matthews was arrested for a second time after nine more women came forward with similar allegations, reporting that they met Matthews online and after agreeing to meet for drinks, lost large portions of their memories, according to an arrest affidavit.
The allegations date back to 2019.
In total, 11 women came forward with allegations Matthews drugged them. Nine of them reported sexual assaults to police. Facing 38 charges in total, prosecutors presented dozens of witnesses and hundreds of pieces of evidence to the jury.
“Stephen Matthews had a deliberate and very particular way of identifying and selecting the targets that he would eventually perpetrate against,” said a prosecutor during closing arguments on Thursday. “This is an obvious, obvious case of a man who feels entitled to perpetrate against women for his own benefit by robbing them of memory, by robbing them of bodily autonomy, and by impairing their memories, only to have them come in and testify and criticize them for the fact that [their memories] don’t exist.”
The defense argued the prosecution’s case lacked evidence. “Merely getting up here and telling a story, it’s evidence for you to consider but it’s not proof beyond a reasonable doubt unless you think it is. It’s just an accusation. It’s just an allegation,” a defense attorney told the jury. “Don’t let the volume of accusations override your common sense and your reasonableness.”
Allegations first surfaced in early 2023 when a victim and Matthews chatted for several weeks on a dating app then agreed to meet for brunch on January 29, according to court documents. After the two ate breakfast and had mimosas, they returned to Matthews’ home and eventually hung out in his hot tub.
According to the court documents, the victim began to “feel poorly” after some time and last remembered being in the hot tub. Her next memory was being at home while paramedics checked on her – adding she had no memory from around noon to 9:40 p.m., the document said.
While taking an Uber home from Matthews’ house, the victim reportedly called her sister and was told she was not making sense, the affidavit read.
The victim had hickeys on her chest but did not remember “any interaction like that” with Matthews, the affidavit read. The next day, the victim had a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) exam completed.
According to the affidavit, Matthews later told investigators the victim had one or two mimosas and half of an avocado toast during breakfast before the two went back to his place. He said the victim then had a “larger mimosa” while he had tequila, the document states. He also claimed that the victim had two shots of tequila with her mimosa.
Matthews said the two eventually went to his hot tub and later had consensual sex.
Investigators in April 2023 said it was believed Matthews might have been involved in “other incidents” and urged any other potential victims to contact Denver police. He was arrested for a second time the following month.
During the verdict Tuesday, Matthews was found guilty on 35 of the 38 counts against him. His bond was also revoked following a request from prosecutors.
“Stephen Matthews took advantage of nearly a dozen women in the most egregious way imaginable, and for that he will now pay a significant price,” said Denver DA Beth McCann in a prepared statement. “I hope today’s verdict provides a measure of comfort to all the victims, whose courage throughout this case should be an inspiration to us all.”
Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 25, 2024, at 1:30 p.m.
This story was originally written by Jeff Anastasio, Sydney Isenberg and Óscar Contreras at Scripps News Denver, an E.W. Scripps Company.
