Stephen Matthews, a former cardiologist who was convicted over the summer of drugging 11 women and sexually assaulting nine of them, faces sentencing Friday afternoon in a Denver courtroom. Prior to that sentencing, one of the women he was convicted of drugging has shared her story in an on-camera interview with CBS News Colorado.
The woman, Allie, 34, says her “date” with Matthews in January 2023 “was the scariest day of my life. … The only time I thought I might die, honestly. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me if I lost consciousness.”
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Allie, who asked that her last name not be used, said she hoped telling her story “gives one more survivor the courage to come forward and get justice for themselves and heal.”
Matthews was convicted in August of 35 out of 38 counts related to drugging and sexually assaulting numerous women between 2019 and 2023. He met the women on dating apps like Hinge and Tinder. But the women who testified against Matthews — including Allie — told remarkably similar stories of having drinks with Matthews and then losing memory of what happened next. Some said they remembered waking up naked after having non-consensual sex with Matthews.
Allie said while she lost memory after having a drink at Matthews’ west Denver townhome, she did not believe she was sexually assaulted but believes she was drugged.
“I was excited to go on a first date and get to know him,” she said, after the two connected via the Hinge app.
She said she liked that he was a doctor whose profile showed he was a dog owner who enjoyed the outdoors. Allie works in the health care field, is a dog owner and also enjoys hiking.
But after meeting Matthews at a bar for a drink, she agreed to walk with him to his townhome to let his dog out. Once there, she said she went to the bathroom but when she came out, he had mixed a drink for her that she never asked for.
“I didn’t want to be rude and didn’t want to offend him so I took the drink,” she recalled.
After drinking about a quarter of it, she quickly began to feel physically ill, her speech was slurred and she began losing her memory and her motor skills.
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“I remember at one point falling all the way to the ground and looking up at him as he was about to film me,” she said.
She said the cardiologist put his arm around her neck and shoulders and put her in a headlock, and pulled her head back to forcibly kiss her. She said it was “painful” and she could not escape.
Allie said she thought to herself that she had to leave “Or I’m not going to be able to leave. I felt like I had to get out. I knew that my ability to control my body was quickly disappearing and if I did not leave within minutes, I didn’t think I would ever be able to leave.”
During the interview, she said she ran from Matthews’ home, initially leaving behind her coat, purse and shoes.
“I just had this intense desire to flee,” she recounted.
She said she summoned an Uber and vomited “uncontrollably” while in the car. Several other women who say Matthews drugged them also said they vomited.
The following day, Allie went to an urgent care center in Denver, hoping to get tested to see if she had been slipped a date-rape drug. She said after 20 minutes, the center said they did not have the supplies to do a drug test.
“I felt completely dismissed,” said Allie, “like they weren’t taking this seriously.”
She believes urgent care centers like the one she visited need to be better equipped to handle women who believe they have been drugged.
For several months, she felt isolated by what had happened.
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“I absolutely did everything I could to make it my fault. I thought I was alone, I thought there was something wrong with me that made him want to hurt me,” she said.
But after discussing her experience with a friend, she was directed to a Facebook group where women had shared similar experiences after dating Matthews. She felt validated by seeing she was not alone, and then reported her experience to the Denver Police Department.
Testifying against Matthews proved difficult, as Allie now says the trial was “retraumatizing” as Matthews’ attorneys made her feel like she was on trial.
But the jury’s guilty verdicts proved a major step.
“It was a huge relief to have the jury say they believed me and the other women.”
She says she has struggled with anxiety, depression and nightmares since her single date with Stephen Matthews and is now hypervigilant about her safety.
“It’s exhausting,” she said.
She plans to talk about these issues when she again testifies Friday at Matthews’ sentencing.
“I am going to ask the judge for the maximum sentence. Every single day there’s at least a moment of my day that revolves around this person who hurt me.”
Allie says she has “no doubt” there are more victims of Matthews who have not come forward or have not been identified. She pointed to the volume of women Matthews was meeting on dating apps.
“I believe the survivors who came forward is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Allie said she has found helpful resources to deal with what she has been through via advocacy organizations like the Blue Bench, which works to prevent sexual violence, and Jane Doe No More, which aims at empowering survivors of sexual abuse.
Matthews is being held in the Denver jail on $5 million bond. His attorney, Douglas Cohen, declined to comment.
