Denver doctor accused of drugging, sexually assaulting women he met on dating apps pleads not guilty

A Denver heart specialist accused of drugging and sexually assaulting women he met thru dating apps was once arraigned on greater than 50 prison counts on Friday.

Dr. Stephen Matthews, 35, a board-certified heart specialist and inside medication doctor, pleaded not guilty to 51 counts, together with sexual attack and drugging, on-line courtroom information display.

Matthews was once first arrested in March on 3 counts of sexual attack after a lady alleged he drugged and sexually assaulted her. Since then, 12 extra alleged sufferers have come ahead, consistent with the Denver District Attorney’s Office.

In the preliminary case, a lady informed police she met Matthews on Hinge and blacked out whilst on a date with him in January and could not keep in mind having any sexual interplay with him, consistent with an arrest warrant affidavit. Matthews informed police they’d consensual intercourse after eating a number of mimosas, then she fell sick, the affidavit mentioned.

Douglas Cohen, one of Matthews’ legal professionals, informed CBS News Colorado in April that Matthews was once blameless and claimed there was once a “failure to fully investigate” the case.

“The accuser’s story simply does not add up. Police omitted from their arrest affidavit many details that contradict her claim of no consent,” Cohen informed the station. “The government also had no forensic medical evidence to prove the accuser was too impaired to consent. We will defend him to the fullest.”

Matthews was once launched from custody on a $50,000 bond for the March arrest. Following media reviews on his arrest if so, extra women reported being drugged and/or sexually assaulted by means of Matthews, police mentioned. He was once arrested once more in May after 9 extra women got here ahead, with maximum assembly him on Hinge or Tinder way back to 2019, consistent with the arrest warrant.

Several of the women reported feeling sick whilst on dates with Matthews at his house after which blacking out, consistent with the affidavit. One reported her subsequent reminiscence was once crawling throughout his bed room ground bare and “yelling at him asking what he did,” the affidavit mentioned. Another girl informed police she become sick whilst on a date at a cafe with Matthews and was once not sexually assaulted however believed he drugged her, the affidavit mentioned.

ABC News did not in an instant obtain a reaction from Matthews’ legal professionals to a message searching for remark on the newest allegations.

Matthews is being held on a $5 million bond at a Denver prison. He is scheduled to subsequent seem in courtroom on Dec. 28 for a motions listening to, on-line courtroom information display.

The arraignment comes after a pass judgement on dominated previous this month there was once sufficient proof for Matthews to face trial within the case.

Stephen Burg with the Burg Simpson regulation company, which is representing some of the women in civil courtroom, informed Denver ABC affiliate KMGH they plan to document a lawsuit as soon as the legal court cases are over, alleging that Matthews was once by no means got rid of from the dating apps regardless of being reported for sexual attack. They plan to call the Match Group, the dad or mum corporate of Hinge and Tinder, as a defendant, he informed the station.

“Generally, I would just say that he was reported early on in the process and was on the dating apps for years after being reported as a rapist,” Burg informed KMGH.

A Match Group spokesperson mentioned what has been reported “is horrible and has no place on our platforms or anywhere.”

“At Match Group, we are committed to help keep our community safe and we continuously work to improve our systems to help prevent bad actors from accessing our platform,” the spokesperson mentioned in a remark. “Our teams use a combination of automated tools and human moderation to help remove bad actors proactively.”

The spokesperson added they’re absolutely cooperating with regulation enforcement and “will continue to provide any information to them that would be helpful for their investigation.”