MetaTV Inc. founder, CEO and chief technical officer Ranjit Singh Sahota was
arrested June 2 after allegedly using the Internet to solicit a 14-year-old girl
for sex, according to FBI officials in San Francisco.
Sahota, a Fairfax, Calif., resident, was arraigned Monday in U.S. District
Court in San Francisco, the FBI said. He had been under investigation by the
police in Sunnyvale, Calif., and the FBI following alleged contact with a
12-year-old girl last August in a hotel room after meeting her over the
Internet, the bureau added.
During the subsequent investigation, Sahota, 36, made contact with someone he
thought was a 14-year-old, who in reality was an FBI agent. He was arrested in
Golden Gate Park in San Francisco last week when he arrived to meet the 'girl,'
the FBI said.
MetaTV issued the following statement: 'It is our understanding that Mr.
Sahota was arrested on June 2nd on allegations of personal activities entirely
unrelated to company operations. We cannot comment or speculate about his
personal legal matters.'
The statement also said Andrew Lev, cofounder and company president, would
continue to run the day-to-day operations of the interactive-TV company, as he
has since March 1999.
Sunnyvale-based MetaTV has developed a 'universal portal platform' that
enables programming across satellite, cable and Internet platforms.
Comcast Corp.'s Comcast Interactive Capital unit and Cox Communications Inc.
are among its investors, and E! Online was an early user of its syndicated
server technology and professional services.
