California mother sentenced to more than 12 years in missing infant son’s death

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A California mother has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to child endangerment and other charges related to the death of her 7-month-old son.

The Press-Enterprise reports that on Friday, Rebecca Haro was sentenced in Riverside to 12 years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to child endangerment causing great bodily injury, involuntary manslaughter and accessory after the fact. Authorities said they believed Haro knew or suspected her son, Emmanuel, was being abused by his father and failed to act.

Haro didn’t address the court during her sentencing hearing.

The plea comes after Haro’s husband, Jake, was sentenced last year to more than 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

The boy went missing last August and has not been found. The couple reported Emmanuel was kidnapped outside a store in Southern California, claiming Rebecca Haro was attacked and left unconscious while changing the boy’s diaper. They were arrested a little more than a week later at their home in Cabazon, some 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Palm Springs.

The case drew widespread attention as authorities and members of the public fanned out to search for Emmanuel.