A Riverside County judge has sentenced 32-year-old Jake Mitchell Haro to a term that totals more than three decades in prison for killing his seven-month-old son, Emmanuel, bringing a grim conclusion to a case that began in August with a false abduction report and evolved into a homicide prosecution built on allegations of sustained child abuse. The court on Monday imposed consecutive punishments that include an indeterminate term of 25 years to life for child abuse causing death, additional time for prior offenses, and financial penalties, while authorities acknowledged that Emmanuel’s remains have still not been found. Prosecutors said the sentence reflects both the gravity of the baby’s death and Haro’s history of violence against children.
The sentencing took place at the Riverside Hall of Justice before Superior Court Judge Gary Polk. According to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Polk identified the child-abuse-resulting-in-death count as the principal offence and ordered the 25-to-life term to be served after determinate time for other counts and prior matters. The DA’s published breakdown states Haro also received 180 days for filing a false police report, six years for a prior child-abuse case, and eight months for being a felon in possession of a firearm, with all terms to run consecutively, and was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution. The Associated Press likewise reported that Polk first imposed seven years and two months for a probation violation and other charges, then added 25 years to life for assault on a child under eight, for a total that surpasses 30 years.
Haro had changed his plea last month, admitting guilt to second-degree murder, assault on a child under eight causing death, and filing a false report. Prosecutors emphasised that the plea was “to the court,” meaning there was no negotiated agreement on sentencing with their office; the judge retained full discretion in calculating the term. The DA said evidence indicates Emmanuel died after multiple acts of abuse and that a series of repeated assaults led to his death. As of the sentencing date, investigators have not recovered the baby’s body.
The case drew widespread attention in mid-August after Emmanuel’s mother, 41-year-old Rebecca Renee Haro, reported that her son had been abducted by a stranger outside a retail store on Yucaipa Boulevard. In that initial account to authorities, she said she was punched and rendered unconscious while changing the baby’s nappy, and that Emmanuel was gone when she came to. Detectives from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department quickly signalled doubts, citing inconsistencies in the story and saying publicly they could not rule out foul play in the infant’s disappearance. Within days, after investigators confronted the couple and served search warrants, both parents were arrested and charged. The DA later charged them with murder; Jake Haro ultimately pleaded guilty, while Rebecca Haro has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody pending further court proceedings.