Inset: Zachary Perez (Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center). Background: Perez allegedly walked his stepson around the yard in a dog collar (Miami-Dade SAO).
Prosecutors in Florida have released home surveillance footage that appears to show a 42-year-old Marine Corps veteran brutally torturing his 6-year-old stepson, beating, kicking, and whipping the child with a switch while also placing a pink dog collar around his neck and repeatedly yanking it hard enough to pull the victim clear off his feet.
The defendant, Zachary Perez, is currently facing one count of aggravated child abuse resulting in great bodily harm.
The videos, obtained by Law&Crime, appeared to show Perez in May 2025 engaged in a series of disturbingly abusive behaviors toward the child, who is entirely redacted from the footage.
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.
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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 bitch,” 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.
The most disturbing clip is largely redacted, but based on court documents, it appeared to show the alleged victim standing in the yard with the dog collar around his neck when the blurred image is suddenly yanked backwards several feet. The boy appeared to be fully lifted off the ground before hitting the grass.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Perez was arrested in May, shortly after his mother reported the alleged abuse to authorities. He was released on house arrest last month.
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 when 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. 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.
“He freaks out. He threatens to kill them. He says he will kill his ex-wife, his kids, he’s going to kill everybody. And he threatens them with a gun,” prosecutors said, referring to Perez as “a ticking time bomb.”
Perez has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He is currently scheduled to appear in court again on Aug. 28, court records show.
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