Dr. Stephen Matthews appears in a booking photo in May 2023. (Denver Police Department)
A Colorado doctor has been charged in 10 separate sexual assault cases – covering 10 separate alleged victims – some of whom claim they were drugged and subjected to revenge porn, police say.
Stephen Matthews, 35, was first charged in a rape case and arrested in March. After a court appearance in the case on Monday morning, he was arrested again. He is now charged with 16 different counts, including three counts of sexual assault (helpless victim); one count of sexual assault – non-consent, substance abuse; two counts of sexual assault – overpowering, drugs; three counts of sexual assault – victim unable to assess her condition, substance abuse; and seven counts of second degree assault – drugs.
“What they did was nothing more than a public spectacle,” Matthews’ attorney Douglas Cohen said in comments to CBS News Colorado this week. “It’s something they didn’t have to do. They had him arrested in the hallway, and it wasn’t necessary for public safety or for any reason other than to create a public spectacle.
Matthews was first arrested on three counts of sexual assault after a woman told the Denver Police Department she had no recollection of her evening with the defendant after a point – but woke up amid paramedics and several “hickeys on her chest,” according to a police report obtained by CBS News earlier this year.
The doctor and the first alleged victim had communicated for weeks after meeting on the dating app Hinge, according to this document. The two finally agreed to meet in late January, had brunch and mimosas, then drove to Matthews’ home, where they played Jenga and “hung out in his hot tub,” the woman told the police.
The last thing she remembered was feeling bad in the hot tub, she told police. Nearly 10 hours later, the woman told law enforcement she was at home, with telltale signs of an encounter she either didn’t remember or didn’t consent to, according to reports. law enforcement.
The woman reportedly said she pursued her criminal complaint after learning that a family friend had also gone on a date with Matthews several years before her “and had a similar experience”.
When questioned by police, Matthews admitted to having sex with the woman, but said the sex was “consensual”.
The accused told police the woman drank two shots of tequila after drinking mimosas at brunch. He claims the two started making out in his hot tub and then she agreed to have sex with him.
In late April, after Matthews was released from jail on $50,000 bail, the DPD asked for the public’s help.
“There may have been other incidents involving Matthews,” said a Press release said.
They asked anyone who may have been victimized by Matthews to call the Denver Police Sex Crimes Unit.
That plea for help led to at least nine other women filing complaints against the cardiologist, who was apparently affiliated with several hospitals in the Mile High City metro area.
In one case, a woman alleged she vomited after drinking and put herself in a fetal position in a bed at Matthews’ home.
She said she woke up at home but couldn’t remember how she got there. After this encounter, Matthews apparently asked the woman out on a date again. She refused.
After being refused, however, Matthews allegedly sent the woman nude photos of herself, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Denver Post.
“My client is innocent until proven guilty,” Cohen said in comments reported by CBS News.
In a longer written statement obtained by the outlet, the defense attorney said the various cases against his client were ‘based on the government’s rush to judge, errors of omission and lack of a thorough investigation. . The case involves two adults who, like many people these days, met online and had consensual sex on their first date. Unfortunately, this lifestyle can lead to buyer’s remorse, abandoned lovers, and fairy tales. But it’s not a crime,” Cohen wrote.
“It wasn’t a rush to judgement,” the first woman to come forward told CBS News. “It is very clear that he is a dangerous person who must be held accountable.”
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