San Diego tech CEO accused of assaulting ‘Beverly Hills Nannies’ star
Prosecutors in Utah have charged a San Diego tech executive with assaulting Ariane Bellamar, a model and one of the pampered mothers on reality TV show “Beverly Hills Nannies.”
The Summit County prosecutor on Tuesday accused Patrick Henry, chief executive of Entropic Communications Inc., of assaulting Bellamar on Jan. 23 at his vacation home near Park City, Utah, after a night of drinking.
When Bellamar tried to call police from her cellphone, Henry snatched the device from her and threw it to the ground, smashing the glass screen, said Summit County Atty. David Brickey.
Henry, 51, Entropic’s chief executive since 2003, denied the allegations.
“The statements made by Ms. Bellamar are not consistent with the facts. Mr. Henry did not attack or assault her,” a statement issued by a spokesman said. “Ms. Bellamar had been drinking heavily and was intoxicated before dinner; she continued to drink during and after dinner. We are confident that when the facts come out, they will validate that Mr. Henry neither attacked nor assaulted her.”
Prosecutors filed three misdemeanor charges against Henry: assault, damaging a communications device and criminal mischief. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Bellamar, who appeared in several episodes of the now-canceled “Beverly Hills Nannies” with her now-estranged husband and the couple’s daughter, told the celebrity news website Radar Online that she met Henry through a dating website and accompanied him to Utah for the Sundance Film Festival.
The 35-year-old woman told the website that the trouble started when Henry “started doing shots … and became very jealous of the attention his friends were paying me.”
Bellamar said that later that night, Henry pulled her out of bed and assaulted her.
On its website, Entropic said Henry is “a recognized leader in the connected home entertainment market [who] brings more than 25 years of high-tech and executive management experience to Entropic.”
He has been recognized by Ernst & Young as “entrepreneur of the year” and was named “most admired CEO” by the San Diego Business Journal, Entropic said.
The company, which makes semiconductors used in home entertainment products, paid Henry $2.4 million in salary, stock and other compensation in 2012, according to Entropic’s 2013 proxy statement.
In an August regulatory filing, Henry said he owned 880,832 Entropic shares, which would be worth $3.7 million at Tuesday’s closing price.
