Jeffrey Chao, the father of a Monterey Park teenager who was missing for nearly a week, was charged Tuesday with child stealing/concealment and falsifying a police report, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office said.
Chao was arrested Friday in connection with the disappearance of his daughter, 15-year-old Alison Chao.
“Falsely reporting a child as missing not only violates the law but also diverts critical law enforcement resources away from other serious matters,” Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a news release. “This type of behavior will not be tolerated, and we will hold the responsible individual accountable for his actions.”
The child stealing/concealment charge against Chao is a felony, while the charge of falsifying a police report is a misdemeanor. Prosecutors also accused Chao of inducing others, including a minor, to help him in the alleged scheme.
He was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Department 30 of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Chao allegedly stole and concealed Alison on July 16 and falsely reported her as missing to police. Search parties looked for her until she was found July 23 in Glendale.
Alison disappeared after leaving home on her bicycle to visit a relative, prompting the Monterey Park police to launch a missing-person investigation. She was found safe a week later while attempting to enter the Los Angeles-based KABC-TV office in Glendale, where she reportedly had gone in the hope of telling her version of events.
Jose Romero, an attorney representing Jeffrey Chao, said after the arraignment that the judge granted $500,000 bail for Chao on the condition that he wear a GPS monitoring device. Efforts were underway Tuesday afternoon to get Chao out on bail, he said.
Romero declined to comment on the charges except to say that he planned on fighting them.
Alison is currently under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, Romero said.