'Narcissistic monster' cardiologist gets 158 years in prison for drugging, raping 'dozens' of women he met on dating apps



A former Colorado cardiologist learned his fate after being convicted of drugging and raping "dozens or more" women he met on dating apps.

Judge Eric Johnson sentenced 37-year-old Stephen Matthews to 158 years in prison — the maximum sentence for his crimes. Matthews had been charged with 38 counts in connection with what prosecutors said were patterns of alleged sexual assaults. He was convicted on 35 charges, including eight sexual assault convictions in August. Matthews also was ordered to register as a sex offender.

'So much suffering, none of it deserved.'

Matthews’ victims and their families inside the courtroom applauded the longer-than-life prison sentence, according to the New York Post.

"Evidence in this case is overwhelming," Judge Eric Johnson said during sentencing. "Mr. Matthews, you know, you have diminished this world. You have dimmed many of its lights. You've hurt our society, and it's a darker place because of you."

The judge added, according to KMGH-TV, "It would be improper — it would depreciate what you have done, the heinousness of your crimes — if you did not serve a sentence for each victim individually."

Johnson continued, "And in here today, there is a room full of pain. And this is pain that you have caused your victims. So much suffering, none of it deserved."

The judge said Matthews "even managed to ruin dating applications" by causing young girls and young women to fear dating apps "as another danger zone."

Johnson told the victims, "You were believed. The verdict said that."

The district attorney filed charges in connection with 11 victims — nine of whom said they were sexually assaulted.

Between 2019 and 2023, prosecutor Victoria Kelley said she was certain there were “dozens or more” victims of Matthews' sexual assaults.

“This guy is one of the most prolific serial rapists in the history of the state of Colorado,” said former Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey.

One of the victims said, "We are now a powerful army of survivors — and you are nothing." She described Matthews as a “narcissistic monster” and a “serial rapist.”

Matthews was first arrested in March 2023 after a woman filed a report with the Denver Police Department saying that during a date he drugged and sexually assaulted her. Matthews was arrested again in May 2023 after nine more women came forward with similar allegations against the doctor.

Prosecutors said Matthews preyed on his victims and had a disturbing pattern to his sexual assaults.

After matching on dating apps such as Hinge and Tinder, Matthews would set up dates at public places such as parks, bars, and restaurants that were in a close proximity to the former doctor’s home.

'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.'

Some victims said Matthews claimed he had to go back to his house nearby to walk his dog. Matthews allegedly would ask the women to play board games and then gave his victims alcohol. The women said they suffered large memory gaps after having the drinks.

One victim said she agreed to go to his house to let his dog out. Once inside, she used the bathroom, and 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 said.

After drinking about a quarter of the drink, the woman quickly began to feel physically ill, her speech was slurred, and she began losing her memory and her motor skills.

"I remember at one point falling all the way to the ground and looking up at him as he was about to film me," the victim said.

She said the Matthews put his arm around her neck and shoulders and put her in a headlock, then pulled her head back to forcibly kiss her, which she said was "painful."

"I felt like I had to get out," she said. "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."

She ran from the cardiologist's home without her coat, purse, and shoes.

The victim got into an Uber vehicle and vomited "uncontrollably" while in the car. Several other women said they also vomited after Matthews drugged them.

Another victim was drugged and then handcuffed to a sofa inside the former doctor's house.

“She talked with [a detective] about the horrific things she remembers,” prosecutor Bree Beasley told the jury. “She remembers brief periods of time where she wakes up handcuffed, and she’s naked on the defendant’s sofa and wakes up vomiting.”

Another victim said within an hour and 27 minutes, Matthews drugged her, filmed her as he assaulted her, and put her into a rideshare car that took her home. She had suffered a head injury, and her underwear was ripped.

“You drugged me and raped me and manipulated me into thinking it was my fault,” one of the victims said.

One of the victims added during Matthews' sentencing, "This was methodical. This wasn’t about consent. This wasn’t about sex. It was about control. He used his position and the title of former doctor to abuse trust with myself and others."

Matthews did not speak at his sentencing hearing. His attorney, Douglas Cohen, said that was because his client plans to appeal his conviction.

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Father accused of drugging daughter's 12-year-old friends with smoothies laced with benzos at sleepover: 'Mom please pick me up'



An Oregon father is accused of drugging his daughter's 12-year-old friends with smoothies laced with benzos during a sleepover.

Michael Meyden – a 57-year-old man from Lake Oswego – turned himself in at the Clackamas County Jail on Feb. 28. According to the Lake Oswego Police Department, Meyden was charged with three counts of causing another to ingest a controlled substance, three counts of application of a schedule-4 controlled substance to another, and three counts of delivery of a controlled substance to a minor.

On Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, the Lake Oswego Police Department was notified that three 12-year-old girls were being treated at Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland. The three girls had tested positive for benzodiazepine.

The three girls were friends with Meyden's daughter, and they attended a sleepover at Meyden's home the night before.

Sometime between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., Meyden served the girls mango smoothies laced with benzodiazepine, according to a probable cause affidavit written by Lake Oswego Police Department detective Nicole Palmeri.

Meyden allegedly "insisted they drink them," and the girls told police the smoothies had "tiny white chunks throughout and sprinkled on top," according to the affidavit.

One of the girls allegedly didn't like the smoothie, but Meyden reportedly made a second one for her to try.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration website, benzodiazepines are "depressants that produce sedation and hypnosis, relieve anxiety and muscle spasms, and reduce seizures."

The DEA website noted, "Benzodiazepines slow down the central nervous system and may cause sleepiness and relaxed mood. Benzodiazepines are associated with amnesia, hostility, irritability, and vivid or disturbing dreams."

The drugs can cause: "Extreme drowsiness, confusion, impaired coordination, decreased reflexes, respiratory depression, coma, and possible death."

The drugs are commonly known as benzos and downers.

The girls told police that they soon felt "woozy," "clumsy," and even blacked out after falling into a "thick, deep sleep" that she had never experienced before," according to the affidavit.

The Oregon father was "very involved" with the girls' activities during the sleepover, which included watching movies and having a "spa night," according to the affidavit.

"According to the affidavit, Meyden made repeated visits to the basement, at one point holding his finger under one girl’s nose and waving his hand in front of her face to see if she was asleep," The Oregonian reported. "He also moved one girl’s arm and moved her body on the bed, the affidavit says. The girl “remained awake in fear that Mr. Meyden was going to do something” to her friend, according to the affidavit."

Once Meyden left the room at 1:43 a.m., one of the girls sent a text message that read: "Mom please pick me up and say I had a family emergency. I don’t feel safe. I might not respond but please come get me (crying emoji), Please. Please pick up. Please. PLEASE!!"

Police said Meyden returned to the basement and stood near the girls for an extended period of time.

A 12-year-old girl told Palmeri that she "could feel him watching her by his presence as she kept her eyes shut, pretending to be asleep."

Meyden appeared to be "doing tests to make sure we weren’t awake," a girl told police.

The parent who received the concerning text message purportedly informed the parents of the other girls at the sleepover, and they went to retrieve their daughters at around 3 a.m. on Sunday.

The parents alleged that Meyden resisted at first, and said for them to return in the morning to pick up their girls.

At around noon on Sunday, Palmeri interviewed one of the girls and said she "walked slowly and used the assistance of her mother for balance, her eyelids were heavy, and she spoke slowly."

Meyden's attorney, Mark Cogan, told NBC News on Friday, "Mr. Meyden is presumed innocent. We have not seen the evidence. The indictment was issued by a grand jury behind closed doors where no judge, no defense attorney, was allowed. And we hope that people will reserve judgment until all the facts are known."

Meyden was arraigned on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty.

He was released after posting $50,000 bail.

Meyden and his wife divorced late last year, according to court records.

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At least 15 women come forward and accuse rapper and his wife of sex trafficking and more



Rapper T.I. — real name Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. — and his wife Tameka Cottle are facing allegations of sex trafficking and forcing women to do drugs.

Cottle has spoken out in defense of her husband against the allegations.

No criminal charges have been filed at the time of this reporting.

What are the details?

According to a Thursday report from Hot97, the allegations began emerging on Tuesday, when Sabrina Peterson — an apparent former family friend — said that Harris once pulled out a gun and put it to her head.

On Tuesday, Peterson took to Instagram and made the claims.

"The sad part about being a woman & BEING A BLACK WOMAN IS THIS! The public PRAISES OUR PREDATORS! @troubleman31 you PUT A GUN TO MY HEAD IN FRONT OF CHILDREN & I NEVER CALLED THE POLICE ON YOU! But for years you have painted me as the VILLAIN! AS BLACK WOMEN!" Peterson wrote.

She continued, "It's hard to heal from RAPE, VIOLENCE OR ANYTHING BECAUSE YOU ARE PAINTED AS THE PROBLEM OR REASON THIS HAS HAPPENED TO YOU! LETS NORMALIZE THE ALLOWING BLACK WOMEN TO HEAL! It's so hard being the VICTIM OF RAPE & BEING PAINTED AS THE REASON IT HAPPENED!"

Elsewhere in the comments section of her now-viral post, Peterson said that Harris put a gun to her head because she was reportedly engaging in a physical altercation with his assistant.

Complex on Wednesday reported that Cottle — also known by her nickname, "Tiny" — "ventured into the comment section of The Shade Room" where she claimed that Peterson was guilty of harassment.

"Hold up," she wrote. "So you want your abuser to train your sons? He was just uncle 2 years ago. Now when did you say my husband assaulted you? Did you change your mind or change it back? What wit you today Pooh? I'm confused. Stop Harassing My Family. You strange. Everybody know you been special (face slicing seminar lady). Please get help but LEAVE US ALONE."

Despite Cottle's rebuttal, the allegations kept on coming.

What happened next?

On Friday, the International Business Times reported that at least 15 people have come forward and have accused Harris of varying degrees of abuse.

A variety of messages, compiled by Rap-Up, feature the women's allegations.

One anonymous woman said that she was victimized in a 2016 incident. According to the report, "She claims she went to T.I. and Tiny's hotel suite at the Ritz-Carlton, where her phone was confiscated and molly and cocaine was being distributed."

The woman wrote, "I watched him drag girls back and forth from the bedroom, to the bathroom, to the living room. One girl was crying because she wanted to leave but they refused to give her her phone to call an Uber."

"Calling him an 'absolute monster who uses money and power to manipulate people' and Tiny his 'secret weapon,' she claimed the rapper allegedly told his security to come 'pick this bitch up off the bed' because she could not walk. The alleged victim was 'almost unconscious' and her pulse was 'barely there,' the woman added," according to the outlet.

Another woman said that she was working as a personal escort in 2013 when the couple invited her to take drugs and engage in sexual relations with the rapper and his wife in return for payment.

"She claimed Tiny got upset that T.I. was showing her more attention and hit her before the rapper 'choked' her out," the report alleged.

The woman added, "I was threatened to the point where I was in fear[.] I left Atlanta and never looked back."

The outlet also cites the testimony of another female, who said that the rapper reportedly pressured her and her friend for sex in 2005 when she was under the age of 18.

The report notes that Harris pressured the duo despite "knowing they were minors."

"A separate woman alleged that the couple drugged women to the point that they could not hold their heads up and then raped them with sex toys, and another claimed T.I. and Tiny forced her friend to take coke and molly and tried to have a threesome with her in Atlanta between 2017 and Jan. 2019."

Peterson has begun compiling all of the allegations against the rapper and his wife, all of which you can view here.

Requests for comment from Harris' representatives went unanswered in time for publication.

What did the couple say?

On Friday afternoon, Variety reported that the couple "emphatically" denied the allegations in a statement.

"Mr. and Mrs. Harris want to be on record and more importantly want the public to know they emphatically deny in the strongest way possible the egregiously appalling allegations being made against them by Sabrina Peterson. The Harrises have had difficulty with this woman for well over a decade. They are taking this matter very seriously," the statement said.