'Grow Up People' Tweets RadiumOne CEO Who Avoided Prison After Plea Deal In Girlfriend Attack
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The San Francisco tech entrepreneur and CEO who avoided prison time after police said he brutally beat up his girlfriend in his penthouse apartment has defended himself in a series of tweets – which have since been deleted from his Twitter feed.
Gurbaksh Chahal, chief executive for Internet advertising firm RadiumOne, had 45 felony charges dropped in return for pleading guilty to two misdemeanor battery charges. He received probation, community service, and is to complete a domestic violence program.
The felony complaint stated Chahal, once named America's Most Eligible Bachelor by Extra TV, threatened to kill his girlfriend, hit her repeatedly in the head and body, and restricted her breathing by covering her mouth during the attack. A video which police said showed Chahal hitting his girlfriend 117 times in a half-hour was ruled inadmissible after Chahal's lawyers convince the judge that it had been obtained unlawfully.
After not once addressing the charges among his frequent tweets on leadership, motivation and success, Chahal delivered a series of tweets Thursday night responding to the tech community outrage over his plea deal, telling his critics "Grow up people ..."
Chahal called the charges "a witch hunt," saying "I maintain my innocence regarding these exaggerated allegations."
The series of tweets was later deleted from his Twitter feed.
At least one person has offered a bounty to produce the security video that police says shows the beating.
Since Chahal was not convicted of a felony, he willbe allowed to continue running RadiumOne, which is planning a $100 million IPO within the next year.
Chahal is still listed as the chairman and CEO on the company's website.
RadiumOne has not yet responded to CBS San Francisco's request for any comment.
