Denver cardiologist sentenced to 158 years for sexual assault

A judge sentenced a former cardiologist from St. Anthony North to 158 years in prison for drug use and sexual assault.

Denver District Judge Eric Johnson on Friday sentenced Stephen, 37, to 35 sexual assault convictions after he attacked at least 11 women between 2019 and 2023, according to a news release from the Denver District Attorney’s Office.

“There is a room full of pain here today,” Judge Johnson said during sentencing. “And this is the pain you inflicted on your victims. So much suffering. None of them deserved it.”

Johnson deemed Matthews a “sexually violent predator” who would likely harm someone else if released, ultimately giving him the maximum sentence for his crimes.

“Mr. Matthews, you’ve made this world smaller,” Johnson said. “We have dimmed many lights, harmed our society and because of you it has become darker here.”

Matthews was arrested in March 2023 after a woman reported he attacked her after they went to brunch. After her story became public, 10 additional women came forward to report that they had been victims of Matthews.

Matthews’ trial began on July 15, with several victims saying they met Matthews through dating apps like Hinge and Tinder. The women said they experienced memory loss after their encounters with Matthews, and family members and friends of some of the victims testified that the victims appeared unusually drunk or disheveled after their dates.

“I am horrified by what happened to me that afternoon,” one of the victims said during Friday’s sentencing. “I have been going to therapy for the last 18 months. Stephen Matthews deprived me of what looks normal. After sexual intercourse in which men touched me, made me tremble and cry, I developed debilitating anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.”

After an almost month-long trial, Matthews was found guilty with 35 of the 38 charges brought against him on August 13.

“I hope this sentencing sends a message to everyone in Denver that those who take advantage of others in the way Mr. Matthews did will be prosecuted by my office to the fullest extent of the law,” Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said in the ruling . release. “I also hope that today’s sentence will provide comfort to all of Mr. Matthews’ victims whose courage in coming forward resulted in a successful outcome.”

Denver Gazette news partner 9Newscontributed to this report.