Tinder and Hinge Lawsuit Claims Women Were Drugged, Raped by a Known Sexual Predator

Lawsuit indicates the dating apps matched women with Dr. Stephen Matthews, even after other women reported that he had sexually assaulted them.

The owners of the dating apps Hinge and Tinder face a lawsuit brought by six women, who allege they were drugged and raped by a sexual predator whom the apps continued to recommend to users, even after other women reported that they had been assaulted by the man.

The women filed their complaint (PDF) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on December 16, identifying themselves with the pseudonyms Jane Does 1-6. The lawsuit presents sexual assault claims against IAC Inc., Match Group Inc., Hinge Inc., Tinder LLC, and Stephen Matthews, a cardiologist currently serving more than 150 years in prison for raping all of the plaintiffs.

Tinder and Hinge are both popular dating sites owned by Match Group Inc., which was originally part of IAC before being spun off. While Tinder is aimed at more casual connections between those geographically nearby and Hinge focuses on more detailed profiles leading to connections, both attempt to match up strangers for potential romantic relationships.

However, the six plaintiffs in this Hinge and Tinder lawsuit say the apps not only fail to do anything to prevent sexual predators from using them to gain access to rape victims, many of them indicate Tinder and Hinge recommended their rapist to them as a potential dating partner even after other women had reported being sexually assaulted by him.

Dr. Stephen Matthews was a cardiologist in the Denver area who used both Tinder and Hinge to find dates, yet the plaintiffs say he was actually searching for targets he could drug into unconsciousness and sexually assault, which he did multiple times.

According to the women’s complaint, Hinge was notified that Matthews had sexually assaulted one of its users as early as September 2020. The site recommended Matthews again to the woman in January 2021, at which time she again reported the assault. Hinge indicated it would take additional steps to ban him from the platform.

At the same time, Matthews was also using Match Group’s Tinder app, which kept recommending him to future victims.

“For the three years that followed, Match Group was armed with knowledge that Matthews was raping its members, yet it continued to give Matthews full access to its products and recommended Matthews to other members and other members to him for in-person romantic encounters.”

– Jane Doe 1-6 v IAC Inc. et al

Five of the women matched with Matthews on Hinge, while one matched with him on Tinder. However, he was allowed to continue using Match Group products until March 2023, when he was finally arrested over a woman he had drugged and sexually assaulted in his home.

Matthews was later accused of drugging and raping a total of 11 women since at least 2019. In August 2024, he was convicted of 35 counts and sentenced to 158 years in prison.

The Tinder and Hinge lawsuit alleges that Match Group knew sexual predators were a problem on its dating apps since 2016. The women say the company not only failed to warn women of the potential risks but failed to put in reasonable measures to prevent sexual predators from using Hinge and Tinder as a hunting ground.

According to the lawsuit, Hinge and Tinder represented to users that they prioritize safety, keep users informed and protect them from known threats. The plaintiffs allege those assurances were contradicted by their experiences, claiming the apps continued to recommend a user they knew had been accused of sexually assaulting customers.

The women present claims of defective design, failure to warn, negligence, promissory estoppel, negligent misrepresentation, breach of express or implied warranties, sexual battery, battery, violation of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, unjust enrichment, negligence per se, and trafficking.

Uber Sexual Assault Lawsuits

In addition to accusations that dating apps can be used to facilitate the actions of sexual predators, rideshare services like Uber and its competitor, Lyft, suffer from similar allegations that they lack adequate safe guards to prevent sexual predators from assaulting and raping customers.

In the matter of Uber sexual assault lawsuits, all federal litigation across the country has been consolidated in the Northern District of California, where U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer is overseeing coordinated pretrial proceedings. Hundreds of related claims are also pending in state courts.

As part of the federal litigation, Judge Breyer ordered a series of bellwether trials to evaluate how juries may respond to evidence and testimony expected to recur across the cases. Six lawsuits were selected for early trial consideration.

The first bellwether case, brought by Jaylynn Dean, is scheduled to begin January 13, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona, after the court delayed the original January 7 trial date. A pretrial conference is set for January 6, with jury selection expected to follow.

In California state court, the first Uber sexual assault case reached trial earlier this year and resulted in a mixed outcome. Jurors found Uber negligent in failing to protect passengers but concluded that the negligence did not substantially contribute to the assault, leaving the company not liable for damages.

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