MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A Miami-Dade County man was arrested over the weekend after he beat his 6-year-old stepson and placed a dog collar around his neck, authorities said.
According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, on Thursday night, at the family’s home in southwest Miami-Dade, Zachary Perez, 42, punched his stepson in the face multiple times, causing several bruises.
Deputies said Perez then placed a dog collar on the boy and yanked him backwards, forcefully taking him to the floor.
According to the report, this occurred numerous times over the course of two days.
Deputies said Perez also kicked the victim in the stomach, causing him to fall backward and struck the boy with a tree branch, causing an abrasion.
According to the arrest report, Perez was arrested Saturday afternoon and provided some kind of acknowledgment to deputies, however his full statement was redacted from the publicly released report.
Perez was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a charge of aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm.
As of Monday, he remained held at TGK without bond.