CEO Of Startup Urban Airship Accused Of Sexually Assaulting His Ex-Girlfriend
The 34-year-old woman, who has not been named, says Kveton assaulted her in 2012 and 2013. She made similar allegations to other police departments in 2010 and 2011, but prosecutors declined to charge Kveton. While police are investigating Kveton, the report from The Oregonian does not indicate he has been charged with a crime in Portland.
Texts, emails, and online chats provided to The Oregonian suggest the pair had a tumultuous relationship. At one point, the couple reportedly compared their relationship to "50 Shades of Grey."
From The Oregonian:
Messages to her appear to acknowledge that Kveton crossed a line without saying specifically how. They also suggest he videotaped her in sex acts without her consent.
Separately, messages from a Kveton email account appear to show him seeking other women on dating web sites and Craigslist to participate in role-playing sex games.
Kveton reportedly used different online identities - including "Gideon Matthews" - to seduce women, but ended up identifying himself with his real name and photos in chats with those he would pursue online.
Urban Airship helps companies add features like push notifications and in-app purchases to apps on multiple mobile platforms.
Kveton has been the subject of several media profiles - in Forbes, ReadWrite, and Portland Monthly Magazine - and has been at the helm of Urban Airship as it's raised millions of dollars in funding. The Portland-based business launched in 2009.
Kveton's relationship with the woman who has accused him of assault began in 2008 and lasted five years until 2013, according to The Oregonian. The woman told police they met online while they were both married to other people, the paper reported. At one point, the accuser worked as a nanny for his family, she told police.
The woman accused Kveton of raping her at his house in 2010, according to police documents cited by The Oregonian. They emailed back and forth after the alleged assault.
They broke up shortly after. The accuser reported a subsequent sexual assault in 2011 and has since made three additional allegations about assaults she says took place in 2012 and 2013.
Portland attorney Stephen Houze, who is representing Kveton, released this statement to The Oregonian: "I would ask the media and public to accord Mr. Kveton the presumption of innocence that is the cornerstone of our system of American justice, a concept that can be so easily destroyed by the sensational reporting of salacious and unproven allegations."
These accusations are reminiscent of the domestic abuse allegations against the founder and CEO of adtech company RadiumOne. Gurbaksh Chahal was eventually fired by the company's board once the criminal charges against him were made public.
We reached out to Houze to see if he has additional comment, and we will update this post if we hear back.