Tech Mogul Who Allegedly Hit and Kicked His Girlfriend 117 Times Sentenced to One Year in Prison

Tech mogul Gurbaksh Chahal was sentenced to one year in prison Friday for violating his probation in a domestic violence case. Police say that security camera footage from 2013 shows Chahal beating and kicking his then-girlfriend 117 times and that the entrepreneur violated his parole by hitting another woman this year.

Chahal earned fame when he sold his tech startup, a digital advertising company called Gravity4 Inc., for $300 million to Yahoo at the age of 25. He appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show a year later in a segment that promoted him as a successful and eligible bachelor. He started another company, RadiumOne, but was removed as CEO in 2014 when he was charged with assault.

Prosecutors and police say the 30-minute security video, which was captured inside Chahal’s San Francisco penthouse in 2013, shows him beating and attempting to suffocate his then-girlfriend with a pillow. He was charged with 47 felonies after the attack.

However, during his 2014 trial, the judge ruled the tape inadmissible after Chahal’s lawyers argued that police seized the footage illegally. The victim withdrew her statement, and Chahal pleaded guilty to the reduced charges of battery and domestic violence battery. He was sentenced to probation.

This year, prosecutors argued that Chahal, now 34, violated his probation by allegedly beating another girlfriend and threatening to report her to immigration services. (This second girlfriend also would not cooperate with police.)

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Tracie Brown ruled earlier this month that Chahal had indeed violated his probation after she admitted the 2013 tape into evidence. She viewed it privately and did not play it in court. On Friday she handed down a one-year sentence, according to the Associated Press.

Chahal’s attorneys told reporters that they plan to appeal.