LOS ANGELES—The father of a 15-year-old girl who went missing for about a week in Monterey Park, prompting several community-led search efforts, was charged Tuesday with felony child stealing/concealment and a misdemeanor count of filing a false police report.
Jeffery Chao, 40, pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment Tuesday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles. His bail was set at $500,000, and he was scheduled to return to court on Aug. 15.