Abhishek Gattani faced second felony domestic violence charge.
An Indian American CEO of a start-up in Silicon Valley pleaded ‘no contest’ to abusing his ex-wife and would end up spending less than 30 days in jail.
The 38-year-old Abhishek Gattani faced second felony domestic violence charge in Santa Clara Superior Court in Palo Alto after his wife of 10 years, and former Apple executive, Neha Rastogi recorded the domestic abuses meted out to her, The Daily Beast reported.
The five minutes and 58 seconds long video was recorded on May 17, 2016, and contains disturbing audio of Gattani abusing, assaulting and hitting Rastogi in the presence of their 2-year-old daughter. She also recorded another conversation on June 14, 2016.
According to the Daily Beast report, Gattani was first arrested in 2013 when a postal worker called 911 after seeing him beating Rastogi outside the couple’s home in Sunnyvale, California. The felony assault charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor at Rastogi’s urging as she felt some sympathy for her husband.
The 36-year-old Rastogi married Gattani through a traditional arranged-marriage in 2009. She told The Daily Beast that she had met Gattani only a few times before their marriage. After the marriage, she soon realized that her husband had trouble controlling his anger as Gattani started abusing and assaulting.
Rastogi was hesitant to end the marriage because she thought it will bring shame to the family in India; but later, she got a divorce from her husband.
“I felt it was important for me to get it out,” she told the newspaper. “Not just to defend my child but to teach her you may get in situations that are not safe but stand up.”
Assistant District Attorney Steve Fein described the plea deal to the Daily Beast as a fair outcome. It calls for a six-month jail term, though only 30 days of actual incarceration, with the balance, served in the weekend work program, doing manual labor for eight-hour shifts but otherwise at liberty.
Rastogi declared herself doubly victimized by her husband and by the criminal justice system in a four-page victim impact statement that she read aloud in court.
The presiding judge Allison Marston Danner was absent for the reading of the victim-impact-statement and Rastogi’s statement is not expected to greatly affect the ruling, The Daily Beast Reported.
Pro-term judge Rodney Stafford put off the sentencing until May 18, after Danner returns.