A mother of three has been arrested after a horrific video showed her trying to set her three-year-old daughter on fire as the toddler screamed hysterically.
The harrowing footage showed Darlyn Pérez holding a lighter to the defenseless child in the kitchen of her home in Boca del Rio Viejo, a village in the Honduran city of Marcovia, this weekend.
The child can be heard sobbing “No” as her mother held the lighter under the innocent girl.
The disturbed mother is also seen hitting the toddler twice and saying, “She stays on her knees.”
Pérez then approached the person who recorded the heinous act and punched the phone.
The video spread on social media and attracted the attention of local authorities, who arrested Pérez on Monday.
As she was escorted to the police station, a tearful Pérez was asked by a reporter if she had any regrets for her actions.
“I regret it,” she said.
Darlyn Pérez was arrested Monday in Marcovia, Honduras after she was caught on video trying to set her three-year-old daughter on fire
The mother of three was arrested Monday and faces aggravated child abuse charges
Authorities took custody of the mother’s three girls (ages 1, 3 and 6) after the gruesome act
When asked what drove her to commit such a cruel form of punishment, Pérez claimed she had no idea.
‘Don’t know. “I was calm,” she said. “I don’t abuse my girl.”
Pérez nodded her head “yes” when asked if it was the first time she had attempted such an act.
“I take care of my daughter,” she said. “I would never do it again.”
The girl and her two other sisters, aged 1 and 6, were taken from their home and placed in the care of the Secretariat of Children, Adolescents and Families.
Pérez is charged with aggravated child abuse.