A Colorado cardiologist who was convicted of eight sexual assaults and numerous drug crimes was sentenced to 158 years on Friday. There was applause in a Denver courtroom when the sentence for Stephen Matthews was announced by the judge.
Stephen Matthews in court during Friday's sentencing hearing
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Jurors in Denver found Matthews guilty in August of nearly all counts of sexual assault brought against him.
Matthews was on trial for weeks after he was charged with meeting women on dating apps, drugging 10 of them, and sexually assaulting eight of them. He was convicted of assault on another victim for a total of 11 victims.
Many women shared their stories in Friday's lengthy court hearing.
"I am scarred by what happened to me that afternoon," one said during the sentencing hearing. "I have been in therapy for the last 18 months. Stephen Matthews took away what normal looks like for me."
"He took a Hippocratic oath to do no harm and we are all here today because of the extensive harm he has done," another said. "As a well educated clinical trained man in his late 30s, this attacker was more than able to recognize all of the signs that his victms were not physically or mentally okay to consent to any sexual contact."
Matthews pleaded not guilty in October 2023 to all 38 counts, all of which are felonies.
The jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts except for three sexual assault-related charges involving one victim in which the jury returned not guilty verdicts. In relation to that same victim, the jury downgraded the second-degree assault charge to a third-degree assault charge and found Matthews guilty on that charge.
In all, the jury returned guilty verdicts on 35 counts, including sexual assault and second-degree assault charges.
Several victims gave their victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing on Friday.
During closing arguments in the criminal trial over the summer, prosecutors emphasized that the women offered very similar accounts of their experiences. During trial testimony, the women said they met Matthews through online dating apps like Hinge and Tinder beginning in 2019 and continuing through early 2023.
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The women said that after having drinks with the physician, they lost memory of what happened next and believed they were drugged and, in some cases, sexually assaulted.
Prosecutors said Matthews was strategic in identifying his targets, meeting them at locations near his home before inviting them over. They added these were clear, deliberate patterns by Matthews and believe he should be found guilty.
Meanwhile, defense attorneys argued during their closing statements that the case included many inconsistent stories from alleged victims, without any proof of evidence.
Matthews has remained in custody at the Denver jail on a $5 million bond since his arrest.
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