Riverside, California — A Southern California father who pleaded guilty to killing his missing 7-month-old son was sentenced Monday to more than 30 years in prison.
Jake Harrow, 32, was subsequently sentenced He begged Pleaded guilty last month to the second degree killing His son, Emanuel, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. A months-long investigation failed to locate the child’s remains.
Harrow and his wife, Rebecca, reported the child was abducted outside a Southern California store in August, saying Rebecca Harrow was attacked and left unconscious while changing the boy’s diaper. This case received widespread attention as authorities and members of the public set out to search for the boy.
It was a couple Arrested A little more than a week later at their home in the desert community of Cabazon, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Palm Springs, Rebecca Harrow encountered inconsistencies in their story.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gary Polk sentenced Harrow to seven years and two months in prison for violating probation and other charges, then to 25 years to life in prison for assault on a child under 8, the Press-Enterprise reported. The sentences will run consecutively. Harrow was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution.
Rebecca Harrow, 41, has pleaded not guilty and is being held on $1 million bail. She is scheduled to appear in court in January.
Riverside County prosecutors asked for Jake Harrow to be sentenced to 31 years to life in prison for killing Emanuel and assaulting another child in 2018. Harrow pleaded guilty to child endangerment for causing serious and permanent injuries to his then-10-month-old daughter, and was given a 6-year suspended sentence, which prosecutors said should now be served.
“Jake Harrow murdered seven-month-old Emmanuel, but in reality he stands before this court having taken the lives of two young children. If there are lesser forms of evil in this world, I am not aware of them,” Riverside County Assistant Prosecutor Brandon Smith wrote in court documents.
A message seeking comment was sent to Jake Harrow’s attorney, Allison Lowe.