Lawyers for victims of a Denver cardiologist accused of meeting women on a dating app, drugging and raping them say the civil lawsuit against the doctor could include more than 60 victims. He said there is.
Dr Stephen Matthews, 36, faces 51 serious charges in criminal court in connection with 13 victims. He entered a not guilty plea.
Prosecutors say Matthews met up with women he met on a dating app in 2019 and would sneak something into their drinks. Victims often lost consciousness or became disoriented and could not remember most of their encounters with Matthews. Some victims claim Matthews sexually assaulted them.
Police arrested Matthews in March 2023 and charged him in connection with one of the victims. But soon after, more women came forward and he was arrested again.
Matthews is being held on $5 million bail, and his criminal trial is scheduled to begin in March 2024.
The Colorado Medical Board suspended Matthews’ medical license while the case progressed through court. Mr. Matthews worked at Colorado Heart and Vascular.
Steven J. Berg is representing dozens of Matthews’ alleged victims in civil lawsuits. He spoke with Jesse Webber on his Law & Crime sidebar podcast. Berg says, unfortunately, the stories his clients tell about Matthews are all very similar.
“He would build trust and give them alcohol, usually near his home, and drug them with that drink,” Berg alleges. “They would be so disabled they wouldn’t know what was going on. And he would sexually assault them.”
“He was very knowledgeable and was able to build trust. He would say, ‘Let’s meet in a public place,’ tell him about his dog, and use that as an excuse to go back to his house or apartment.” was common,” Berg told Webber.
Berg said the women, who didn’t know what happened to them, heard from other victims and things started to click.
“They wanted to forget all this, but now they want to make sure they stand up and provide some change so something like this never happens again,” Berg said. “Frankly, every time this is reported, more and more survivors are coming forward and saying, ‘Oh my god, this is the first time I’ve heard of this and I want to do my part.’ Don’t let that happen. Please make it [anymore]”
“Some of these survivors may have to speak publicly about the most personal things in their lives,” the lawyer added. “I am continually inspired by the strength of survivors to come forward, take action, and make this world a better place for others.”
Mr. Berg told Mr. Weber that he represented several women in civil cases. He plans to name Match Group as one of the defendants.
“Match Group owns about 80% of the online dating market share, and they own a lot of specific apps like Hinge and Tinder. So, you know, one of Match Group’s failures is that Matthews… When he was reported as a rapist, it continued to be posted on websites for years afterward.”
Berg said the report was made by the victim after the assault but before any criminal charges were filed. The victim was told Matthews would be removed from the app, but Berg says that never happened.
Match Group said in a statement: “The content reported is atrocious and has no place on our platform.” “At Match Group, we are committed to keeping our community safe and are continually working to improve our systems to prevent bad actors from accessing our platform. Our team uses automated tools and human We use a combination of controls to proactively take down malicious actors. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement and will continue to provide information that will assist their investigations.”
Berg believes there may be more victims who have not yet come forward but would like to come forward. His law firm encourages anyone who believes they have been assaulted by Stephen Matthews to call 303-792-5595.