31-year-old Internet entrepreneur Gurbaksh Chahal will not go to jail after initially being accused of 47 felony counts of domestic violence, the Huffington Post reported on Wednesday.
Instead, Chahal pled guilty to misdemeanor charges of domestic violence and battery, and will instead serve 25 hours of community service and three years' probation, along with completing a 52-week domestic violence training program.
Chahal, currently the CEO of the online advertising company RadiumOne, was arrested in August 2013 and accused of hitting his girlfriend 117 times during a 30-minute attack that was allegedly caught on a security camera in his bedroom. Prosecutors said Chahal attacked the woman because she had cheated on him by taking a trip to Las Vegas with another man.
The San Francisco Examiner reported on April 2 that Superior Court Judge Brendan Conroy stopped prosecutors from introducing the footage as evidence, ruling that police took it illegally from Chahal's home.
"We disagree with the judge's suppression of the video," San Francisco District Attorney's Office spokesperson Alex Bastian said in a statement. "The judge's ruling substantially weakened the evidence we had for prosecution. Though it is not the outcome we had hoped for, the case has reached a resolution where the defendant acknowledges guilt, is placed on domestic violence probation and has to take domestic violence classes."
According to the Post, the case against Chahal was also hamstrung by his girlfriend's reluctance to testify, which reportedly followed his hiring former federal prosecutor James Lassart to represent him. Lassart argued that, while Chahal did strike the woman, the physical damage caused to her was "overblown." Lassart is also representing state Sen. Leland Yee, who is currently facing corruption charges.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Chahal will be allowed to stay on the RadiumOne board as the company, which allegedly generates $100 million a year, goes public.
[Image via Gurbaksh Chahal official Facebook page]
