The father of a missing 7-month-old in California previously pleaded guilty to willful cruelty to a child.
Jake Haro pleaded guilty to the willful cruelty to a child charge in 2018 and served six months in jail, the New York Post reported. The newspaper also reported that last June, Haro faced two new charges for owning or possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon.
Jake and Rebecca Haro reported their son, Emmanuel Haro, missing on August 14. Since then, police have seized Jake's vehicle as part of the investigation and have highlighted potential inconsistencies in Rebecca's previous statements, KABC reported.
However, an attorney for the family shot down reports that the family was no longer cooperating in the investigation and criticized law enforcement for not searching for Emmanuel.
"Find Emmanuel, that's all the family is asking for," Vincent Hughes, the defense attorney representing Jake and Rebecca Haro, told CBS News. "Nobody is searching for a seven-month-old child, and that's the biggest issue here."
Hughes also addressed Jake Haro's past record.
"There was a conviction for child cruelty, which Jake is not running from," Hughes told CBS. "He's not hiding from his record; it's publicly available information."
Hughes added that, "It's no nexus between that case and this case here, and he should not be judged based on his past."
Rebecca initially told police that on August 14, she was standing outside her vehicle in the parking lot of a store when she was knocked out. She told police that when she came to, Emmanuel was gone.
However, police have said that Rebecca's version of events contained "inconsistencies" and that when confronted, she stopped the police interview. "At this point in the investigation, investigators are unable to rule out foul play in the disappearance of Emmanuel," police stated.
CBS News reported that investigators no longer are classifying the case as a kidnapping, but as a critical missing child investigation.
