Inset: Zachary Perez (Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center). Background: Perez allegedly walking his stepson around the yard in a dog collar (Miami-Dade SAO).
A 42-year-old Marine Corps veteran in Florida who was allegedly recorded torturing his 6-year-old stepson — placing a pink dog collar around his neck and repeatedly yanking it hard enough to pull the victim clear off his feet while also beating, kicking, and whipping the child with a switch — will likely avoid prison thanks to an offer from prosecutors that has left the victim”s mother incensed.
Despite a plethora of footage allegedly depicting physical abuse, the Miami-Dade Office of the State Attorney confirmed that it offered Zachary Perez a plea deal that would include two years of house arrest with mandatory GPS monitoring followed by an additional 10 years of probation, according to a report from Miami NBC affiliate WTVJ.
“Damaging or removing the GPS monitor during that period of house arrest would lead to him returning to jail,” a spokesperson for the prosecutors’ office told the station. “This plea, which has the defendant in custody for two years, would avoid the necessity of having to put the child victim on the witness stand during a trial to be cross-examined by the defendant’s lawyers, something the child’s mother has indicated she was unwilling to allow.”
Perez was arrested earlier this year and charged with one count of aggravated child abuse resulting in great bodily harm, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. During a previous hearing, prosecutors referred to Perez as “a ticking time bomb.”
As previously reported, the videos, which were obtained by Law&Crime, appeared to show Perez in May 2025 engaged in a series of abusive behaviors toward the child, who is entirely redacted from the footage.
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The victim’s mother, who chose not to reveal her identity for the sake of her family’s safety, told the station that she was “horrified” when she learned about the abuse, emphasizing that she did not support the deal prosecutors offered Perez.
“It’s an absolute slap in the face considering what he has done to my child and the trauma he caused,” she said in an exclusive interview with WTVJ. “I fear that he will come back and he will kill us. I still continue to fear that wherever I go, I am constantly looking over my shoulder.”
In one video, Perez could be seen holding a pink dog leash that authorities said was attached to the 6-year-old’s neck as Perez walked him around the perimeter of the backyard. Others appeared to show the boy walking around the yard carrying a backpack that authorities have said was filled with rocks.
Another appeared to show the child jumping on his bed for several seconds when a man dressed in a black shirt and shorts opened the bedroom door and just kicked the boy somewhere between his stomach and head, sending him sprawling down onto the bed.
“Get your f—ing shoes on b—,” the man, who authorities say is Perez, then yells to the boy.
A clip from the living room appeared to show Perez entering from outside and holding the door open for the boy, who soon goes running by, with Perez kicking him as he does. Another appeared to show Perez chasing the boy in the yard with a long, thin wooden stick.
Another video clip, which has been largely redacted but described in court documents, appeared to show the victim standing in the yard with the dog collar around his neck when he is suddenly yanked backwards several feet. The boy appeared to be fully lifted off the ground before hitting the grass.
During a court hearing in June, a deputy with the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office testified about what investigators uncovered about the alleged abuse while combing through the surveillance footage from inside and outside of the home.
“The defendant had beat, punched him in the face multiple times, put a dog leash around his neck,” the deputy said, per Miami ABC affiliate WPLG.
“He had swollen eyes from being hit, he had numerous marks from the tree branch,” the deputy also said. “He had a couple of scratches, a couple of bruises. He had a rash on his neck from the collar.”
The deputy also recounted text messages Perez allegedly sent to the victim’s mother after she reported his allegedly abusive behavior to authorities.
“He said ‘Get home,'” the deputy testified. “He was going to make her pay. He said, ‘You’ll remember Mother’s Day.'”
Assistant State Attorney Wily Wisset told the court that since Perez’s arrest, her office had received multiple calls from women previously involved in relationships with the defendant who claimed to have witnessed or experienced similar abuse at his hands and were afraid of him, Miami NBC affiliate WTVJ reported.
WTVJ reported that Perez has yet to accept the deal, which ultimately must be approved by Circuit Court Judge Alberto Millian. Perez is reportedly expected to make a decision on the offer next week.
