NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A Harlem man who beat his then-girlfriend's 6-year-old son, Zymere Perkins, to death in 2016 has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, according to reports.
A judge handed the maximum sentence down to Rysheim Smith, 47, in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday, the New York Post reported.
Smith was convicted of second-degree murder, manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with Perkins' Sept. 26, 2016 death in January.
Prosecutors said Smith and Perkins' mother abused the boy for months before he died.
"This boy, this child, this 6-year-old innocent existed in a living hell," Judge Ruth Pickholz said Monday, according to the outlet. "He was tortured. He was starved. He was forced to stand at night and not lay down. Yes, his teachers tried."
Perkins' mother received a two- to six-year sentence in exchange for testifying at Smith's trial, the outlet reported.
