OAN Staff Avril Elfi
Wednesday, August 14, 2024, 1:00 p.m.
A Denver-based cardiologist has been convicted of 35 charges in a sexual assault trial in Colorado.
advertisement
Steven Matthews, 36, was found guilty by a jury on Tuesday of nearly all sexual assault charges.
The cardiologist was on trial on charges that he met women through dating apps, secretly injected them with drugs without their knowledge, and then sexually assaulted or raped them after they began to lose memory or fall asleep.
In October 2023, Matthews pleaded not guilty to all 38 charges.
The jury returned a not guilty verdict on three counts of sexual assault involving one victim, but found the defendant guilty on the remaining charges.
The jury found Matthews guilty of a reduced charge of second-degree assault on the same victim and a third-degree assault charge. The jury found the defendant guilty of 35 charges in total, including sexual assault and second-degree assault.
“The verdict doesn’t change what happened to me. I will suffer physically and mentally for the rest of my life as a result of what happened to me,” said one of the victims, who asked to be named only as Audrey.
“He took away years of our lives. The ability to heal, the ability to go out and live freely without worrying that he might be attacked. He took so much from us. He took away our memories so we can’t react. He did this,” said one of the victims, who did not want to be identified.
In closing arguments last week, prosecutors said the women’s stories were remarkably similar.
One of the women who testified at the trial said they first met Matthews through online dating services such as Hinge and Tinder between 2019 and early 2023. The women claimed they were blacked out after drinking with the doctor, believed they had been drugged and, in some cases, sexually assaulted.
Prosecutors said Matthews would meet with his targets strategically, meeting them outside their homes and appearing friendly before inviting them in for drinks and conversation. They said this was clearly a deliberate pattern and tactic and they believe Matthews should be found guilty.
“What we know is that this is a crystal clear case of a man who felt entitled to abuse a woman for his own gain by robbing her of her memory, depriving her of her bodily autonomy and impairing her memory,” the prosecutor said.
Meanwhile, in their closing arguments, the defense argued that there was a lack of evidence in the case and that there were inconsistencies in the victim’s claims.
“This was a case about a story, and at the end of the case the prosecutors made their conclusions based primarily on a story, a story that changed and was often not tested by the government,” the defense lawyer said. “The case was filled with overwhelming emotion, and we were all moved by the testimony you heard. It was painful to hear, but ultimately overwhelming emotion and unconvincing evidence were the themes of the case.”
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann released a statement regarding the sentence.
“Steven Matthews exploited nearly a dozen women in the most heinous ways imaginable and will now pay a dear price. I hope today’s verdict provides some comfort to all of the victims who showed courage throughout this case. I would like to thank the prosecutors, investigators, victim advocates and paralegals in my office and the detectives at the Denver Police Department whose incredible work got us to this point today. I also want to thank the jury for their hard work during this long and emotional trial. Justice has been served today,” McCann said.
Matthews has been held in a Denver jail on $5 million bail since his arrest. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 25th.Number He could face up to 25 years in prison.
Stay up to date! Receive the latest news directly in your email for free. Sign up here: https://www.oann.com/alerts
Advertisement below
Please share this post!
