It was a horrific end to a brief, battered life, but it didn’t have to turn out that way.
Little Zymere Perkins of Harlem was bludgeoned to death with a broomstick on Sept. 26, allegedly by his mom’s boyfriend, after years of the city’s child-welfare system squandering opportunities to intervene on his behalf.
The cards were stacked against the boy from the start, as his mom, 26-year-old Geraldine Perkins, tested positive for pot the day he was born.
That kicked off the first of five Administration for Children’s Services investigations conducted while Zymere was alive — and the city, including resigning ACS boss Gladys Carrion, let him down at every turn, damning city and state reports on the tot’s death found.
Then came the abuse allegations, beginning in June 2015, when an anonymous caller reported Geraldine’s boyfriend, Rysheim Smith, had smacked Zymere “at least 20 times” for not listening at a picnic, then warned the tot he would get another “ass whooping” at home.
Zymere told a case worker that Smith had hit him at his mom’s friend’s house — a claim ACS never followed up on, according to a 27-page report from the state’s Office of Children and Family Services.
The child also revealed Smith used harsh punishments for misbehavior — including beating him with a belt, forcing him naked under a cold shower and making him do five push-ups.
His mom slapped him in the face during one of the icy baths, he told ACS workers, according to the report. Smith even admitted to mentally manipulating the small boy, saying he’d turn on a cold shower and threaten to put him in if he “be bad.”
He used that sick strategy as “leverage,” he told ACS. Despite the startling admissions, ACS performed a hasty investigation, failing to reach out to relatives or properly document why they ultimately found the claim of “excessive corporal punishment” unfounded.
Just two months later, ACS was called again when Perkins was arrested for assaulting a fellow shelter resident along with Smith.
In Zymere’s interview with a case worker on Sept. 1, he again said that he was “beaten” with a belt by Smith when he misbehaved. The boy added the punishment “hurt” but he “does not cry,” the state’s report said.
Once more, ACS failed to follow up on his cries for help.
“The frequency of these incidents and/or visits to the partner’s home was not explored,” the state report found.
“There were no attempts to visit the partner’s home for assessment; there was no effort made to conduct a full body check of the child after he made the disclosure he was hit and to determine if there were any marks or bruises.”
Between Sept. 2 and Sept. 21, ACS didn’t even make contact with the family.
“The supervisor directed the specialist to contact the subject child’s father, the mother’s family and to conduct a screen for domestic violence; none of this was done and the case was closed before the 60 days provided for the investigation of reports,” the state report reads.
During a home visit on Jan. 28, 2016, a case planner noted that “Zymere did not have any teeth in the top his gum.” Perkins insisted her son had simply fallen on ice in the park.
“Despite these concerns, the case planner . . . did not seek an elevated-risk conference with ACS, as is required in such situations,” the city’s report reads.
ACS was called a fourth time in February, when a staff member at Zymere’s school said the boy had shown up with suspicious injuries in recent months.
The injuries included a “fractured jaw,” scratches near his eye and a knocked-out tooth, the school worker told ACS. The staffer added that Smith was “known to be rough with Zymere,” the city report said.
Perkins denied the abuse allegations, blaming the injuries on her son and insisting he’d fallen while riding his scooter.
But Zymere had a conflicting account, telling ACS he’d fallen on the snow. He also said he’d been hit on the back by a cousin — but again ACS never reached out to his relatives.
Even Smith, who was at the center of the claims, was never interviewed during the investigation. ACS also failed to reach out to Zymere’s doctors directly.
In April 2016, Zymere showed up at school with bruises and scratches on both legs, and the agency opened a fifth investigation. Perkins told a case worker Zymere had been with his aunt in Brooklyn, but again ACS didn’t reach out to family members to confirm her story.
Zymere also complained to ACS workers he didn’t “get to eat good” when he behaved “bad.” He added that he “gets bruises on his head and knees,” according to the report.
But even that wasn’t enough to raise alarm bells.
The fifth abuse case was closed just 23 days after it was opened, with ACS finding the allegations unsubstantiated, the state report said.
Before Zymere’s death, his mom met with a case planner for the last time, on July 28, 2016, saying they intended to move to Massachusetts on Aug. 1. “The case planner’s supervisor entered a note . . . stating that the case was being closed because the family was moving,” the city’s report reads. “The move was not verified.”