PORTLAND, Oregon — Police arrested a Northeast Portland man early Tuesday morning on multiple charges, including rape. Detectives are seeking more potential victims, according to the Portland Police Bureau.
The suspect, 49-year-old Konstantin Y. Svidenko, faces a total of 17 counts, including for rape, kidnapping and strangulation. He was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on Sept. 5. He was indicted by a grand jury on Sept. 1 for the following charges.
- One count of rape in the first degree
- Two counts of attempted rape in the first degree
- One count of sexual abuse in the first degree
- Two counts of sexual abuse in the first degree
- Eight counts of kidnapping in the first degree
- Two counts of strangulation
- One count of assault in the fourth degree
According to an affidavit obtained by KGW, Svidenko is accused of luring multiple women to his Northeast Portland apartment to smoke fentanyl or meth before assaulting them. He's known for traveling around on his mountain bike in his Hazelwood neighborhood.
There have been at least four incidents this year where multiple women have come forward identifying him as their abuser. Each of the women were able to identify and lead police to Svidenko's home, where the attacks allegedly took place. TriMet surveillance records also corroborated all reports, placing him with the victims, according to court documents.
Throughout court documents, it was unclear as to why Svidenko was not arrested previously or if PPB conducted further investigation based on each incident, once reported. In response to a request for comment, PPB provided this statement:
"We cannot discuss specifics about this active and ongoing investigation. But speaking generally, sex assault cases are complex and require a great deal of meticulous work by initially responding patrol officers, sex assault detectives, sex assault nurse examiners, victim’s advocates, and prosecutors with the district attorney’s office in order to gather evidence and bring the strongest case possible to the Grand Jury. Advocating for the victims and holding offenders accountable is our top priority."
Editor's note: The following information from court records includes graphic descriptions of sexual assault and abuse.
First incident
On Jan. 20, a victim described in the affidavit as "opiate affected" and "dope sick" told police she was walking near 122nd Avenue and Burnside Street when a man named "Konstantin," later identified as Svidenko, approached her. She provided a description matching Svidenko's. He offered her "clear," the affidavit says, a street name for meth. She mentioned that they would often smoke meth together.
The woman told officials that on the same day, Svidenko invited her over to his apartment to do some "blues," which is another name for fentanyl pills. She agreed and took the bus to the Highlander Apartments at 1217 Northeast 122nd Avenue. Once she arrived, they took fentanyl and hung out, the affidavit says. The woman told officials that when she was ready to leave, she had difficulty leaving Svidenko's home. He eventually allowed her to go.
Around 1 p.m., the victim later returned to his home to use more blues. About 30 minutes into her arrival, she said Svidenko put pornography on the TV and started to touch her, causing her to feel uncomfortable, the affidavit says. She stated that she wanted to leave and started moving towards the front door. She moved a bike that was blocking the entrance, unlocked and opened the door.
The woman realized she'd left her phone behind and returned to Svidenko's home to retrieve it. She said he looked calm, stood up and admitted to taking her phone, which he refused to return. The victim told officials that she tried to push past him but a struggle took place, where Svidenko locked the door and placed his hands over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. She also stated that she had difficulty breathing and Svidenko threatened to kill her.
At that point, the affidavit says, the woman was unable to fight back and gave up. She said that Svidenko raped her.
On Jan. 22, the woman reported the incident to PPB, where an officer advised her to go to the hospital to have a rape kit performed, though she'd showered and washed her clothes since the incident. The same officer was able to associate Svidenko with the address the victim provided.
Second incident
On or about March 17, an officer responded to reports of an attempted rape and assault at the Blackburn Center, located at 12121 East Burnside Street. Upon arrival, the officer noted that the victim was visibly distraught, in tears and described her as "very animated." The officer also noticed bruising and blood inside the victim's mouth, and around the victim's face and hands as a result of the assault.
She told the officer that she was at Cultivate Initiatives near Southeast 122nd Avenue and Southeast Market Street in hopes of finding someone with a power cord to charge her phone. She met a man who told her he had a charger at his home she could use. She agreed to go to the man's home. He was later identified as Svidenko, according to the affidavit. He placed his bike on the transit bus and they headed to his home.
Once they arrived, the victim was able to plug in her phone and sit down, where Svidenko offered her meth. The victim admitted to using "a bit." He also offered her fentanyl pills, which she declined. While they were seated, he asked the victim to expose her breast to him as he started to lift his shirt up. The victim panicked, grabbed her phone and attempted to leave, leading to a struggle due to Svidenko's bike blocking the exit, according to court documents.
As she was working to remove the bike, Svidenko grabbed the victim from behind and wrapped his right arm around her neck and squeezed multiple times, the affidavit says. He then dragged her back towards the living room, where she was able to break away and bolt towards the back door, which was also barricaded. Svidenko allegedly started to punch the victim around her face and stomach. She also told the officer that she had a lot of pain in her right rib cage.
The victim was able to run towards the kitchen, where she grabbed a knife and scissors. She said she believed Svidenko would kill her. He told her that he had a gun, the affidavit says, but the victim never saw a gun. After she armed herself, he told her to grab her items and leave. She ran to the Blackburn Center and urged staff members to call 911. The officer and the victim later returned to the location of the assault, and the officer was able to associate the same location with the sexual assault report from Jan. 22, according to court documents.
Third incident
On or about April 29, an officer was dispatched to conduct a welfare check at around 4:25 p.m. at Svidenko's home. Dispatch noted receiving a 911 call where a female's voice could be heard telling a man she needed some pills. The woman spoke quickly and stated that she was kidnapped by a man in the apartment and the door was nailed shut. The man's voice could be heard in the background, according to court documents.
While driving to Svidenko's home, the officer received an update that the woman had escaped from the apartment, running down the street naked. The female victim told the dispatcher that the man attempted to rape her, the affidavit says. The victim waited for officers at 1019 Northeast 122nd Avenue, where she later told officers she met a man, later identified as Svidenko, at the Gateway Center MAX station.
Svidenko, described by the victim as an older white male with a thick Russian accent, approached the victim and asked her if she smoked blues. He offered for her to come to his apartment to smoke with him, and they took the MAX train to his home. The victim also mentioned that Svidenko had his bike with him. She followed him into his home and they smoked fentanyl, but she left his apartment after noting that Svidenko exhibited strange behavior, the affidavit says.
But in a similar manner to the first incident, the victim realized she didn't have her phone, which prompted her to return to Svidenko's apartment. She stood on the landing near his door and asked him to return her phone, when the affidavit says he grabbed the victim by her shoulder and pulled her inside. She told him she would scream, but he placed his hand around her mouth and throat, told her he had a gun and that she needed to remain silent, according to the affidavit. The victim noted never witnessing a gun.
The woman told officers that Svidenko secured the door with a nail or screw to stop her from leaving and told her he wanted sex. The victim believed that her life was in danger, and agreed to Svidenko's request to keep him calm, the affidavit says. In order to stall, she stated that she wasn't feeling well and asked to use the bathroom and shower. She went to the bathroom to stall but Svidenko became inpatient and got aggravated, expressing that the victim wasn't giving him what he wanted.
Fearful for her life, the woman said she followed Svidenko's direction to undress, but she kept him at a distance. She told him to remove his pants if he wanted to sleep with her. As he removed his pants, the victim's phone fell out, the affidavit says. She grabbed her phone and ran to the bathroom, where she called 911. The victim also called her mother and told her she'd been kidnapped and to contact police. She told Svidenko that she'd called 911 and he needed to remove the nail from the door. He then removed the nail, the affidavit says, so she gathered her belongings and backed away. She escaped from the apartment naked, but was able to slip on a pink dress before the officer arrived, according to court documents.
The victim told officials that Svidenko was only able to touch her upper thigh. She went back with the officer to Svidenko's apartment, where the officer was able to confirm Svidenko's residency via records search.
Fourth incident
On Sept. 4, North Precinct officers and K9 unit members responded to reports of a man making threats to a woman around 9:57 p.m. near 4200 Northeast 122nd Avenue, according to PPB. Officers later learned that the man was Svidenko, who was wanted.
Officers were unable to locate him for more than an hour, but a K9 sergeant and K9 officer stayed behind searching for him. On Sept. 5, around 12:20 a.m., both K9 officers located Svidenko near Northeast 122nd Avenue. He was later arrested and booked on the charges listed above.
On June 14, the lead detective on the case interviewed Svidenko, in which he denied any association or interaction with all three victims. He also denied the fact that the victims were ever in his home. Officials were able to provide surveillance video and images from TriMet of Svidenko with the victims.
The investigation is ongoing and detectives have reason to believe that Svidenko may have more victims. He is described as being a 5-foot 10-inch tall white male and weighing about 175 pounds. He has a heavy Russian accent and often rides a bike. Svidenko lives in an apartment near Northeast 12nd Avenue and Northeast Multnomah Street, according to PPB.
Anyone who recognize or may have any information about Svidenko should contact PPB Detective Nathan Wollstein at 503-545-3482 or nathan.wollstein@police.portlandoregon.gov.
If you or anyone you know are experiencing or have experienced sexual assault and need support, help is available.
The following is a list of resources, including critical support services and information about how to report a sex crime:
Multnomah Co. Call to Safety Crisis Line: 503.235.5333 / 1.888.235.5333 (toll free)
Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network (RAINN): 800.656.HOPE (4673) / rainn.org
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800.799.SAFE (7233)
