Wife Of Former Cuberon CEO Protests 'Lenient' Domestic Violence Sentence

PALO ALTO, CA -- The former CEO of Sunnyvale startup Cuberon was sentenced Thursday afternoon to six months in county jail and three years' probation after his wife testified in a Palo Alto courtroom that he had beaten her for the duration of their 10-year marriage.

Accounting for time served, Abhishek Gattani, who spent two days in jail in 2013 on a since-expunged misdemeanor charge of domestic violence, will likely only serve 13 days in a Santa Clara County jail this month after he surrenders at San Jose's Main Jail by 1:30 p.m. Friday.

Superior Court Judge Allison Danner ruled that Gattani be eligible to spend the remaining five months of his sentence picking up trash four days a week as part of the sheriff's Weekend Work Program.

"This is a punishment that we believe fits the crime," Santa Clara County Assistant District Attorney Brian Welch said outside the courthouse.

Gattani was initially charged with two counts of felony domestic violence, but he ultimately pleaded no contest to a felony accessory after the fact charge and a misdemeanor charge of inappropriate touching in a plea bargain that his wife, Neha Rastogi, called "truly mind-boggling" and "a slap on his wrist" in a statement to the court Thursday.

Rastogi did not object to Gattani's sentence, however, and Danner granted her request that he serve the in-custody portion of his jail sentence before he is allowed to start the work program.

The accessory charge implies that Gattani had acted as an accomplice to a crime, but Rastogi asked, "How is he an accomplice?"

As for the misdemeanor charge, Rastogi said, "It was not offensive touching. It was multiple, multiple beatings."

Prosecutors believed a lack of physical evidence and documentation of the abuse would have made the charges too difficult to prove as felony domestic violence.

Of the 13 audio recordings that Rastogi made of the alleged abuse, Danner said today that only one, in which Gattani is said to have audibly slapped her several times after an argument about software bugs escalated,
could have been considered as evidence as it documented a criminal act.

Danner also noted that Rastogi had made inconsistent statements to the court while validating that Gattani had given her two bruises.

"It was the vehicle by which we could convict the defendant of a felony," Welch said outside the courthouse, noting that despite the unusual charges, Gattani would still have a felony record mandating "everything that
would be required of a person convicted of felony domestic violence."

In her statement in court Thursday, Rastogi criticized the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office for filing a memo that she said "amounted to a public attack against the victim," citing the memo's inclusion of
her medical records and her daughter's date of birth and mention of the six-figure sum that she had withdrawn from their joint account.

Rastogi, speaking confidently in a black dress, said she was legally entitled to the funds, which she said still left "a huge amount" of money in Gattani's control.

"I, the victim, should not have to correct the district attorney's memo," Rastogi said.

Rastogi said her withdrawal of the funds was consistent with the district attorney's advice to domestic violence victims as she held up a pamphlet from the office's Victim Services Unit that advises such victims to secure financial resources along with extra keys and copies of important documents before leaving.

Criticizing the "pattern of leniency in this case," and suggesting that the district attorney's office has a "hidden agenda" focused on "damage control" and public opinion Rastogi asked, "Why are we protecting this serial abuser?"

Gattani, wearing a gray polo shirt and blue jeans, kept his back turned to his wife as she addressed the court. His ailing mother, who is visiting from India, sat behind him in a pink hat and light-colored sweater.

In filing the memo, Rastogi said, the district attorney's office "totally disregarded my civil rights... in order to accomplish their objective, which remains unclear."

"I feel that my abuse continues by proxy of the court system," Rastogi said.

Outside the courthouse, Welch said it was not uncommon for domestic violence victims to take issue with prosecutors' methods of resolving a case.

"I am disappointed that Ms. Rastogi is not satisfied with the disposition or the way her case was handled," Welch said.

For the first year of his probation, Gattani will be subject to regular remote breathalyzer tests and be required to attend a 52-week domestic violence class, perform 40 hours of community service and donate $500 to a battered women's shelter.

Gattani will also be subject to a 10-year no-contact protective order against Rastogi and will never be allowed to own a gun or ammunition.

About 20 anti-domestic violence protesters, many of whom have ties to Silicon Valley's large South Asian immigrant community, held signs outside the courthouse in support of Rastogi before they attended the hearing.

"Domestic violence is truly terrorism and should be termed so," Rastogi said. "There are way too many Nehas waiting out there to be safe again."

By Bay City News Service

Photo by Allison Levitsky/Bay City News Service