22-year-old Jesse Helt soared to fame this weekend when Miley Cyrus brought him as her date to the 2014 VMAs. The homeless young man accepted the "Wrecking Ball" singer's award for Video of the Year and gave an unexpected speech about the issue of homeless youth in America.

'If I'd known then maybe I could have helped him,' said Dennis when the Daily Mail tracked him down for an interview.

"We kept in touch since he left for LA but I haven't spoken to him this year," Dennis told the publication. "I thought he was still chasing his dream, I didn't know he was homeless, he didn't share that information with me."

This revelation comes as Jesse continues to face scrutiny by the media after it became known that the young man was wanted in Oregon for a parole violation for a previous misdemeanor.

When Helt's appearance on the VMAs caused his criminal history to be brought to light, he went on the run, the Oregon police in hot pursuit.

"That's all new to me," said the young man's father. "He was 19 when he left, but I don't know what he was getting up to."

Cyrus tweeted her dismay over the situation, accusing the media of victimizing her new friend instead of focusing on the larger issue of homeless among youth in the United States.

Does looking down upon the homeless help people excuse their inaction?

— Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) August 26, 2014

People who are homeless have lived very hard lives. Jesse included. — Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) August 26, 2014

The media never fails to disappoint. You've chosen to go after Jesse instead of covering the issue of youth homelessness :(

— Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) August 26, 2014

"It's heart-breaking knowing he was going through that when he's got a family to fall back on," Dennis said.

In addition to revealing that he has not seen his son in three years, Dennis also expressed his confusion when it came to the lifestyle Jesse has been leading since arriving in Los Angeles.

"Since he moved away he's been doing it on his own," said Dennis. "I did know he had been struggling for money but I thought he was just doing small jobs, you know cleaning or spinning a sign on the corner, while he was trying to get jobs as a model."