SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Gurbaksh Chahal, the Silicon Valley executive who pleaded guilty to assaulting a former girlfriend by kicking and punching her 117 times in 2013, has been appointed as an adviser at a U.S. venture capital firm. It’s a move domestic violence organizations have said sends a “disturbing message.”

The appointment, made by the Chicago-based fund NIN Ventures, comes less than six months after Chahal was sentence to serve one year in jail for violating the terms of his probation with the assault of a second woman just months after the first incident occurred. His sentence is currently suspended pending appeal.

In announcing his appointment, NIN Ventures’ CEO, Nin Desai, said: “We have great faith in Mr. Chahal and his contribution to the ad tech industry and believe his addition will strengthen our position in identifying key technologies in this space.”

Domestic violence organizations have since criticized the appointment, arguing that it showcases how wealthy and privileged businessmen can navigate their way around cases of serious misconduct.

“It sends a very disturbing message that this is OK. He is awaiting what could be a year’s jail sentence, but he’s out in the world and we are not sure he’s learned anything. We think he’s a public safety risk,” Beverly Upton, executive director of the San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium, told The Guardian. “We see it in politics, we see it in corporate America, we see it in sports and we see it in Silicon Valley,” she added.

Others see his appointment as a calculated attempt by NIN Ventures to attract investors to contribute to its fund.

“It looks as if they haven’t actually raised the funds and they are trying to get publicity right now to raise the capital,” Eileen Carey, founder and chief executive of Glassbreakers, said in the same interview with The Guardian. “It’s a Trump situation – a bait and switch.”

Carey added she doesn’t think the appointment vindicates Chahal. “I think the opposite. It’s a demonstration of how desperate he is for a job.”

Chahal, who founded multiple advertising technology companies including RadiumOne and Gravity4, has been at the center of controversy since he was arrested and charged with 47 felonies for an attack in August 2013. Police said that a 30-minute security camera video they had showed the entrepreneur hitting and kicking his then girlfriend 117 times and attempting to suffocate her inside his $7 million San Francisco penthouse.

Throughout the controversy, Chahal tried to play down his actions, including writing a blogpost after his first arrest in which he said:

“I recognize that my temper got the better of me, and I will regret that for the rest of my life. But there is a difference between temper and domestic violence, and the truth of what actually happened is nowhere close to what the police claimed nor anywhere near what the online chatter and pundits are now making it out to be.”