Cardiologist’s sexual assault trial, set to begin after 4-month delay, will not be televised
The trial of Stephen Matthews, the Denver cardiologist accused of drugging 11 women and sexually assaulting nine of them, is scheduled to begin Friday, July 12. Judge Eric Johnson has now ruled that the trial will not be televised, denying all requests for expanded media coverage.
Brian Maass, the investigative reporter who has been tracking this story since the beginning, provided the update for CBS News Colorado. According to Maass, “the nature of the charges,” “the nature of the allegations” and “the sensitive nature of the information which may be presented” were just some of the reasons behind the judge’s decision.
Matthews, 36, is accused of meeting the alleged women on dating apps and then drugging them in a way that results in severe memory loss. He previously pleaded not guilty and is being held on a $5 million bond. His trial was originally expected to begin in March, but it was pushed back to July.
Several Colorado lawmakers are now pushing to protect the users of online dating apps with a new bill that would make it easier to report misconduct. Sen. Faith Winter, the bill’s sponsor, has said the accusations against Matthews helped inspire the new legislation to be drafted.
“We want to prevent the same kinds of things from happening,” Winter said at the time.
Click the link below for the full story from Maass and CBS News:
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.