A Colorado cardiologist was sentenced to 158 years for drugging and sexually assaulting women he met on dating apps.
Stephen Matthews, 37, learned his fate in a Denver courtroom on Friday.
“Mr. Matthews, you know, you have diminished this world,” District Court Judge Eric Johnson told Matthews, local ABC affiliate KMGH reported. “You have dimmed many of its lights. You’ve hurt our society, and it’s a darker place because of you. You brought disgrace upon yourself.”
Family members and victims spoke out in court, local CBS affiliate KCNC reported.
One of his victims called Matthews a “narcissistic monster” and a “serial rapist.”
“We are now a powerful army of survivors, and you are nothing,” the victim said, according to the TV the station’s report.
“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,” another victim said, local Fox affiliate KDVR reported.
Matthews’ defense attorney said he is appealing and blamed the verdict partially on the news media and law firms who labeled Matthews a sexual predator. His parents pleaded for leniency.