Baby Emmanuel: DA’s office blasts judge’s handling of prior abuse case

The disappearance of baby Emmanuel Haro quickly brought attention to a previous child abuse case involving his father, Jake Haro. In that case, Haro was convicted of causing permanent injuries to his 10-week-old daughter from a different relationship, leaving her bedridden with lifelong injuries, according to the District Attorney’s office. Despite the severity of the abuse, the judge gave Haro a suspended six-year sentence and probation.

Two years after that conviction, the name “baby Emmanuel” made national headlines when Jake Haro and his wife, Rebecca, were arrested on suspicion of murder. They are also accused of fabricating a kidnapping story to cover up the crime. At a news conference in August announcing the arrests, DA Mike Hestrin stated, “Mr. Haro should have been in prison… If that judge had done his job as he should have, Emmanuel would be alive today.”

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DA’s office releases statement on previous case

The DA’s office took the unusual step of releasing a public statement titled, “STATEMENT TO THE MEDIA AND OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS REGARDING CLARIFICATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE PRIOR CASE OF JAKE HARO.”

The statement clarified that the charges in the previous case could have been more severe. The DA’s office said they likely would have amended the charges to increase them based on the “nature and extent of the victim’s injuries.” They explained, “Had the case gone to a preliminary hearing, it is highly likely that we would have sought amendments to increase the charges. However, Mr. Haro pled guilty prior to that stage, and the final plea was presented to and accepted by the Court.”

The DA’s office noted that they objected to the suspended jail sentence, probation, and work release both on the record and in open court. They claimed the judge in the case “chose to deviate” from their recommendations. The statement continued, “When the Court chose to deviate from the People’s insistence that Mr. Haro deserved prison time for his actions, it was acutely aware of the heinous and permanent nature of this young victim’s injuries.”

The DA’s office also stated, “No one has denied that the Court had the discretion to make the decision to grant Mr. Haro probation. We believe that granting Mr. Haro probation under these circumstances, on these facts, was an inappropriate use of that discretion.”

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The judge’s response

At the time of the prior case, the judge told Jake Haro in court, “I’m giving you a chance… don’t mess it up. Good luck.” In an interview with the Long Beach Post last month, the judge said he couldn’t discuss the details of the case but noted that “in 18 years, this is the first time I’ve been taken to task in this manner about a decision I’ve made.”

Jake Haro’s daughter, now seven years old, continues to suffer from lifelong injuries and the effects of “long-term child abuse,” according to the DA. Haro has pleaded not guilty to the murder charges in the baby Emmanuel case.