Rapist cardiologist Stephen Matthews cries in court after being found guilty of 35 charges of drugging and sexually assaulting women he met on dating apps

A cardiologist who committed rape wept in court as he was found guilty of dozens of charges of drugging and sexually assaulting women he tracked down on online dating sites.

Stephen Matthews, 36, has been on trial in recent weeks, facing 38 charges, all felonies.

Although Matthews pleaded not guilty to all charges in October 2023, a jury in Denver on Tuesday found him guilty on nearly all of the sexual abuse charges brought against him.

The Denver cardiologist met women online, through dating apps, and proceeded to drug and assault them. He was accused of drugging 11 of his victims and sexually assaulting nine of them.

Matthews burst into tears in court Tuesday as the judge read out dozens of sentences, occasionally putting his head in his hands and crying.

Stephen Matthews, 36 (pictured), has been on trial for the past few weeks – he has been charged with 38 counts – all crimes

The former doctor has been held in Denver Jail on $5 million bail since his arrest in March 2023.

He faces a minimum of five years in prison – and a maximum sentence of 25 years. His sentencing is scheduled for October 25.

Prosecutors stressed in their arguments last week that each victim told virtually the same story about what happened.

The women said they met Matthews through online dating apps, such as Hinge and Tinder, from 2019 to early 2023.

They thought they were having a drink with the cardiologist, but then lost all memory of what happened next. When they woke up, they thought they had been drugged and in some cases sexually abused.

After Tuesday’s decision – one of the victims said CBS“A verdict doesn’t change what happened to you. There are lifelong physical and emotional things that I’m going to have to deal with as a result of what happened to me.”

“I don’t think he’s sorry for what he did. I think he’s sorry he got caught,” she continued.

“He took years off our lives,” said another.

Matthews sobbed dramatically in court Tuesday as the judge read dozens of guilty verdicts — at times putting his head in his hands and crying

Prosecutors also argued that Matthews was strategic in identifying his targets, meeting them at locations near his home and then inviting them to visit him.

“What we do know is that this is a clear-cut case of a man who feels justified in committing crimes against women for his own gain, by robbing them of their memory, by robbing them of their bodily autonomy and by damaging their memory,” prosecutors said.

Defense attorneys argued that the case contained many conflicting stories from the alleged victims, without any evidence to support it.

“This was supposed to be a case about stories, and ultimately the prosecution’s conclusion was largely based on stories, accusing them of stories that changed and were often not tested by the government,” the defense attorneys said.

“The case had a lot of overwhelming emotions. We were all moved by the testimony that you heard. It was hard to listen to, but that’s what the case was ultimately about, overwhelming emotions and disappointing evidence.”

Stephen J. Burg represented dozens of Matthews’ alleged victims in a civil case.

According to him, the victims’ stories were all similar: “He would build trust and then have them drink together, usually near his house, and then give them drugs,” Burg said.

“They were very, very weak and didn’t know what was going on. And he would sexually abuse them.”

“He was very smart and could build trust. He would say, ‘Let’s meet in a public place,’ and talk about his dog and often use that as an excuse to go back to his house or apartment,” Burg said.