Reports indicate that a former US Marine, Zachary Perez, 42, allegedly subjected his six-year-old step-son to severe abuse, which prosecutors characterized as a two-day nightmare of torture.
Surveillance footage from his home in Miami reportedly shows Perez using a pink dog leash around the child’s neck and dragging him to the ground. Video evidence from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office is said to depict him running through the living room and kicking the boy in the stomach, while the child appeared to be crying out for help.
Prosecutors referred to Perez, a veteran of the Iraq war, as a “time bomb,” suggesting he posed a threat not just to the child but potentially to others as well. It was claimed he forced the boy outside while wearing a backpack filled with rocks during the horrifying ordeal.
The alleged abuse left the child with swollen eyes, scratches, rashes from the collar around his neck, and visible marks from a stick used against him, according to court documents.
Barbara Perez, the boy’s mother, testified in court that her son is now dealing with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and hearing loss attributed to his stepfather’s alleged cruelty.
Perez’s legal team reportedly asked his wife to take care of the child and suggested she permit him to discipline him, arguing that prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to prove their case.
Since Perez’s arrest in May on charges of aggravated child abuse, multiple individuals, including his 14-year-old daughter, have come forward with further allegations against him, according to prosecutors.
Initially denied bail, Perez was released on June 10 under house arrest. He has been instructed to maintain a distance of at least 500 feet from both the child and his mother, and so far, there has been no contact.
A court appearance is scheduled for August 28.
