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Tech Executive's Domestic Violence Sentence Draws Outrage

SANTA CLARA (CBS13) — There's fury tonight over a Bay Area tech executive's plea deal in a domestic violence case.

Former Cuberon CEO Abishek Gattani may only spend two weeks in jail, after allegedly beating his wife for decades. Now, there's mounting pressure for a Santa Clara judge to give the man a harsher sentence.

This all started when the judge in the case went on vacation. A substitute judge stepped in and Gattani took the two week plea deal. The community is now demanding the original judge re-think the decision.

In the videos recorded by the victim and obtained by the daily beast, you can hear what she claims is her husband yelling at and hitting her. In the plea deal, Gattani received 15 days in jail and avoided deportation.

"All eyes are on the justice system when a case becomes high profile," said Esther Peralez-Dieckmann with Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence:

Peralez-Dieckmann says Judge Allison Danner is in the spotlight right now, as she decides whether to hand down a harsher sentence.

"We have to really pay attention to when we sentence. Are we actually going lighter in this case and why is that?" asks Peralez-Dieckmann.

According to the victim- Neha Rastogi- her husband got a plea deal based on his privileged status. In a letter she wrote to the judge she says, "...I feel wronged by the D.A.'s office and this court. I stand fooled, disgraced and ridiculed as a victim. What I suffered at Abhishek's hands has become insignificant in favor of considerations of Abhishek's job, immigration status."

YWCA Silicon Valley CEO Tanis Crosby says, "Sometimes the perpetrator doesn't look the part. It could be a person of privilege, a celebrity, an athlete."

Rastogi is a former Apple executive herself. The high profile couple in the community is now the center of a high-profile case.

Peralez-Dieckmann says, "In a case like this where all eyes and the public scrutiny is so high, we have to get it right."

The original judge is now back from vacation and has decided to delay the sentencing until she hears more evidence. Meanwhile, the Santa Clara District Attorney's office says it stands by the plea agreement.

The community has launched an online petition asking Judge Danner for a harsher sentence. So gar, it's gained more than 10,700 signatures.

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