Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin also took aim at the judge who suspended the father’s prison sentence after an earlier child abuse conviction

The state of California is reeling after prosecutors revealed the horrifying details behind the death of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro, whose parents first reported him kidnapped earlier this month.

Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin confirmed in a press conference on Wednesday that Emmanuel was not abducted in a parking lot, as his mother claimed, but instead died after enduring “severe abuse over a period of time” before his parents staged a false kidnapping report.

The case has triggered outrage not only because of the cruelty inflicted on the infant, but also because Emmanuel’s father, Jake Haro, had a lengthy history of child abuse convictions that should have put him behind bars years earlier.

The case first gained public attention on August 14, when Rebecca Haro called authorities claiming she had been attacked and knocked unconscious in the parking lot of a sporting goods store in Yucaipa, a city about 10 miles east of San Bernardino.

According to her initial account, she was changing Emmanuel’s diaper in the backseat when she was struck from behind, waking up to find her baby missing.

The report set off an urgent search effort, with San Bernardino County deputies, helicopters, and community volunteers combing the area. However, investigators quickly grew suspicious when inconsistencies emerged in Rebecca’s story.

Surveillance footage failed to corroborate her claims, and neighbors revealed they had not seen Emmanuel for days leading up to the alleged abduction.

By August 18, the investigation had shifted dramatically. Authorities arrested both Jake and Rebecca on suspicion of murder, later filing formal charges after determining Emmanuel had likely been dead since August 5—the last confirmed sighting of the child.

“The filing in this case reflects our belief that baby Emmanuel was a victim of long-term abuse, and that eventually he succumbed to those injuries,” DA Hestrin told reporters.

He added that investigators believe they know the location of Emmanuel’s remains but have withheld that information to protect the ongoing investigation.

The courtroom revelations surrounding the Haros’ history only deepened the shock. Jake Haro, 32, had already been prosecuted for severe child abuse in 2018, when his 10-week-old daughter with a previous partner was brought to a hospital with catastrophic injuries.

Doctors documented brain hemorrhages, multiple rib fractures, cervical spine damage, retinal hemorrhages, and seizures, concluding that the father’s explanation—that he had accidentally dropped her into a sink—was impossible.

The little girl survived but now lives with cerebral palsy, bedridden at age seven. Despite Jake pleading guilty to felony child cruelty in that case, a judge in 2023 suspended his six-year prison sentence and placed him on probation.

Hestrin did not mince words in condemning that decision. “Mr. Haro should have been in prison at the time this crime happened.

If that judge had done his job, Emmanuel would be alive today,” he said, visibly angry. “When our criminal justice system breaks down, I will call it like it is.

It broke down, and a child paid the ultimate price.” His remarks have sparked fresh debate over judicial accountability in child abuse cases, with many asking why a repeat offender was allowed back into a home with children.

The Haros’ family history paints a disturbing picture. Jake had already violated probation once by being charged with owning a firearm, yet was still free when Emmanuel was born.

Rebecca, meanwhile, had presented herself to friends and neighbors as a devoted mother, but investigators say she not only knew of Emmanuel’s ongoing abuse but participated in the cover-up of his death.

In one chilling moment recounted in court filings, Rebecca was accused of telling a family member that Emmanuel “cried too much” and “needed to toughen up,” raising questions about her complicity long before the staged kidnapping hoax.

As the criminal case moves forward, both parents are being held on \$1 million bail and are scheduled for arraignment on September 4. Their two-year-old daughter has since been removed from their custody and placed in foster care.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the Haros appeared somber, saying nothing as prosecutors laid out the charges. A public defender representing them declined to comment.

The case has ignited public fury in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, with many residents pointing to systemic failures that allowed a known abuser to remain free.

“This was preventable,” Sheriff Shannon Dicus said bluntly, describing Jake Haro as an “experienced child abuser” who should never have been in a position to harm another child.

Social media has been flooded with condolences for Emmanuel, with community members leaving flowers and stuffed animals outside the sporting goods store where his mother first fabricated the kidnapping story.

Beyond the immediate shock, the tragedy underscores larger concerns about how courts handle repeat child abuse offenders. Child welfare advocates argue that too often, leniency is granted in cases where the victim is too young to speak for themselves.

In Emmanuel’s case, prosecutors have vowed to pursue the harshest penalties available under California law. “This child never had a voice,” Hestrin said. “But we will make sure his story is told, and justice is done.”

For now, investigators continue searching for Emmanuel’s remains in undisclosed locations across Southern California. Neighbors who once saw Rebecca walking with a stroller say they cannot fathom how events spiraled into such cruelty.

One woman told reporters, “We used to wave to her, thinking she was a caring mom. To learn what really happened is beyond heartbreaking.”

As the community mourns the loss of a life that had barely begun, Emmanuel Haro’s story has become both a symbol of tragedy and a rallying cry for reform.

His short existence was marked by suffering, yet his death may spur changes that prevent another child from slipping through the cracks of a flawed system. In the words of DA Hestrin, “What happened to Emmanuel is an outrage, and it can never be allowed to happen again.”