Stephen Matthews, a former cardiologist who was convicted about the summer in which he drugged 11 women and sexually assaulted nine of them, will be sentenced in a Denver courtroom on Friday afternoon. Before that conviction, one of the women he was convicted of drugging 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 was going to die, honestly. I didn’t know what was going to happen for 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 would “give another survivor the courage to come forward and get justice for themselves and heal.”
Matthews was convicted in August of 35 of 38 charges related to the drugging and sexual assault of numerous women between 2019 and 2023. He met the women through dating apps such as Hinge and Tinder. But the women who testified to 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 non-consensual sex with Matthews.
Allie said that while she lost her memory after having a drink at the Matthews townhome in west Denver, she did not believe she had been sexually assaulted, but she did believe she had been 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 loved the outdoors. Allie works in healthcare, is a dog owner and also enjoys walking.
But after meeting Matthews at a bar for drinks, she agreed to walk with him to his townhome to walk his dog. Once there, she said she went to the bathroom, but when she came out, he mixed her a drink that she never asked for.
“I didn’t want to be rude and I didn’t want to offend him, so I took the drink,” she recalls.
After drinking about a quarter of it, she soon began to feel physically ill, her speech became slurred, and she began to lose her memory and 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, put her in a headlock and pulled her head back to forcibly kiss her. She said it was “painful” and she couldn’t escape.
Allie said she thought to herself that she had to leave. ‘Otherwise I can’t leave. I felt like I had to get out. I knew that my ability to control my body was quickly disappearing and if I didn’t leave within minutes, I didn’t think I would ever be able to leave.”
During the interview, she said she fled Matthews’ home, initially leaving her coat, bag and shoes behind.
“I just had an intense desire to run,” she said.
She said she called an Uber and vomited “uncontrollably” while in the car. Several other women who say Matthews drugged them also said they vomited.
The next day, Allie went to an urgent care center in Denver, hoping to be tested to see if she had been given a date rape drug. She said after twenty minutes the center said they did not have the resources to do a drug test.
“I felt completely rejected,” Allie said, “like they weren’t taking this seriously.”
She believes emergency centers like the one she visited need to be better equipped to treat women who think they have been drugged.
For months she felt isolated by what had happened.
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“I did absolutely 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 experiences with a friend, she was referred to a Facebook group where women had shared similar experiences after dating Matthews. She felt validated by seeing that she was not alone, and subsequently reported her experience to the Denver Police Department.
Testifying against Matthews proved difficult, as Allie now says the trial was “retraumatizing” as Matthews’ lawyers made her feel like she was on trial.
But the jury’s guilty verdicts proved to be a big step.
“It was a huge relief when the jury said they believed me and the other women.”
She says she has suffered from anxiety, depression and nightmares since her single date with Stephen Matthews and is now hyper-vigilant about her safety.
“It’s exhausting,” she said.
She plans to talk about these issues when she testifies again at Matthews’ sentencing on Friday.
“I’m going to ask the judge for the maximum sentence. Every day, at least one moment of my day is dedicated to this person who hurt me.”
Allie says she has “no doubt” that there are more victims of Matthews who have not come forward or have not been identified. She pointed to the large number of women Matthews met through dating apps.
“I believe the survivors who have come forward are just the tip of the iceberg.”
Allie said she has found helpful resources to cope with what she experienced through advocacy groups such as the Blue Bench, which works to prevent sexual assault, and Jane Doe No More, which focuses on empowering survivors of sexual assault .
Matthews is being held in the Denver jail on a $5 million bond. His attorney, Douglas Cohen, declined to comment.
