Colorado doctor accused of drugging, raping women he met on dating apps

close

Video

COVID lab repurposed to test rape kits, helping to clear nation's backlog

An estimated hundreds of thousands of rape kits sit untested in police departments nationwide, according to the Joyful Heart Foundation, a group that helps sexual assault victims.

A Denver cardiologist has been charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a string of women he met on the dating apps Hinge and Tinder, court papers allege. 

Stephen Matthews, 35, was first arrested March 22 based on one victim's disturbing accusations. 

Widespread reports of the allegations prompted nine other women to come forward, officials said. 

On Monday, Matthews was arrested on the new charges outside the Denver District Courthouse after making an appearance on the initial case. 

From October 2019 to February 2023, Matthews allegedly lured women to his apartment, invited them to play Jenga, and offered them a spiked drink, according to an affidavit.

SUZANNE MORPHEW'S HUSBAND SAYS MISSING COLROADO WOMAN MADE ‘BAD DECISIONS'

Dr. Stephen Matthews' portrait next to an image of his condominium, where several women allege he drugged and sexually assaulted them. (Colorado Heart & Vascular/Google Maps)

The first victim to report an assault to police met Matthews on Hinge. 

After communicating on the app for several weeks, they met for breakfast then went to his million-dollar condo in the hip Lower Highland neighborhood Jan. 29, where they played Jenga and hopped into his hot tub.

After Matthews handed her a drink, "her next memory is being at her own home and talking to paramedics," the affidavit states.

She later noticed she had "hickies" on her neck but "does not recall any sexual interaction," the documents say.

In an interview with police, Matthews allegedly said "They had consensual sex, and after that, she vomited several times" before taking an Uber home.

Colorado doctor Stephen Matthews' mugshots after he was arrested for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting 10 women he met on dating apps. (Denver District Attorney's Office)

Four days earlier, the cardiologist invited another woman back to his apartment that he had met on Hinge. He handed her what she thought was a tequila and soda before her memory became blurry.

At one point, she recalled that he had filmed her and later was kissing her before she blacked out. When she awoke, she was violently ill.

COLORADO RIDE-SHARE DRIVER ACCUSED OF KIDNAPPING, SEXUALLY ASSAULTING WOMEN: POLICE

On Oct. 30, 2019, Matthews met a woman on Tinder and lured her back to an apartment he appeared to share with a girlfriend, where they drank and took a dip in the hot tub, the affidavit alleges.

After vomiting in Matthews' bathroom, she next remembered being back at her apartment and awaking to him "having sex with her," she told police. 

A few weeks later, after she told Matthews she would not see him again, he sent her naked photos he had taken of her in the hot tub.

READ THE AFFIDAVIT AGAINST DR. STEPHEN MATTHEWS

Another date said that after she had sipped the cocktail he had prepared, "her next memory is crawling across his bedroom floor."

Several of the women said the Jenga pieces had messages on them in different people's handwriting that included dares like "take a shot."

The most recent incident occurred on Feb. 5.

Matthews tried to give the woman a drink, but she declined. After he got too "touchy" in the hot tub, she took off. She later realized that Matthews had allegedly sexually assaulted her friend three years prior, the affidavit says.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Matthews graduated from New York Medical College in 2015 and specializes in cardiovascular disease, internal medicine, and thoracic surgery at several clinics and hospitals in the Denver area, according to WebMD.

He is facing nine counts of felony sexual assault and seven counts of assault by drugging.

His attorney, Doug Cohen, declined to comment.