Portland man accused of luring models for ‘bondage’ art faces first of 4 sex crime trials

A Portland artist went on trial Tuesday for allegedly enticing a model to his house in Southeast Portland and then raping her while she was restrained by ropes, blindfolded, and gagged.

Gabriel F. Weiss is accused of first-degree rape or sexual abuse of four women between 2011 and 2018, and this is the first of four trials he will face.

Prosecutor Aileen Santoyo said in her opening statement that the first lady, who was living in a truck at the age of 19, met Weiss, 44, through a Craigslist ad and consented to pose nude for him on August 17, 2018, at his home in the Creston-Kenilworth neighborhood.

According to Santoyo’s opening remarks, Mr. Weiss used his authority over her and took all she owned that evening, along with her dignity and peace.

Part of a 911 call presented by Santoyo to the jury of ten women and four men, including alternates, revealed that the woman, overcome with tears, reported the incident minutes after leaving the house.

The victim testified that Weiss had been painting on her body for more than an hour when he suddenly attacked and began strangling her. The woman claimed that although she had established clear boundaries, she was aware of Weiss’ bondage art approach.

She claimed that I had explicitly said in the communication that nothing intimate or sexual was to be happening. I froze, fearing that I would be harmed.

According to Santoyo, later that evening, nurses in a hospital gathered DNA evidence that was consistent with Weiss.

Benjamin Kim, the defense lawyer, admitted that the two had sex but said the woman staged a non-consensual encounter for unknown reasons.

He claimed that when the woman called her mother later, her boyfriend, who had been waiting outside during the modeling session in a heightened state of excitement, could be heard yelling. According to Kim, the hospital nurse did not discover any signs of strangulation-related bruises or ligature marks.

The woman erased her text communications with Weiss, he added. The woman stated on the witness stand that she did not want her boyfriend to discover Weiss’ address and pursue violent retaliation.

According to Santoyo, the woman quickly left Oregon to be with her family, claiming she was too overwhelmed and out of state to be involved in the case. When police reached out to her again in 2021 to clear a backlog of untested rape kits, Santoyo stated that the lady was prepared to move forward.

Kim urged the jurors to think at the case in a new way.

He informed the jurors that it wouldn’t be shocking if she dropped the claim right away after making it. There won’t be any proof as to why.

Little of Weiss’s three other current cases, which Circuit Judge Benjamin Souede has ordered be tried separately next month, will be heard by the jury. Women who reportedly met Weiss while working as nude models are also involved in those lawsuits.

According to court documents, Weiss, who is now 51, advertised his artwork under the name Kawiri Cascabel while working as one of the best stonemasons in the city during the day. According to his CV, the Reed College alumnus was regularly contracted to construct or repair masonry for the municipal and metro governments, as well as the U.S. Forest Service.

When Weiss was arrested in March 2023, he was employed full-time at the downtown Lan Su Chinese Garden as the architectural conservator.

He is still detained in Inverness Jail in the protective custody unit.

For The Oregonian/OregonLive, Zane Sparling reports on court proceedings and breaking news. You may contact him at zsparling@oregonian.com, 503-319-7083, or pdxzane.

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