Why didn’t anyone protect him?

Ma, hulking beau charged in death of boy City alerted to abuse claim, did nothing

Zymere Perkins’ mom, Geraldine (l.), carried battered, dying 6-year-old son out of Harlem apartment, but pointed finger at boyfriend Rysheim Smith (far l.).

NO ONE lifted a finger to help him.

After suffering years of abuse, a helpless 6-year-old Harlem boy covered in bruises died — and police are investigating whether his mom or her musclebound boyfriend are responsible for his death, authorities said Tuesday.

Little Zymere Perkins’ mother, Geraldine Perkins, and her boyfriend, Rysheim Smith, were arrested late Tuesday on charges of acting in a manner injurious to a child in the child’s death. Their arraignments were pending.

Murder charges are expected to be filed against one of them once the city’s medical examiner’s office determines how the tragic child died on Monday afternoon, police sources said.

Smith, 42, flatout denied playing a role in the boy’s death as he was escorted from the 30th Precinct stationhouse early Wednesday.

“I would like to say it was a terrible mistake, God bless everybody,” he said as he was ushered into an awaiting police car. “Get out of here, please. Get out of my face.”

Tears were streaming down Perkins’ cheeks when she was escorted from the building — but she became hostile when she saw cameras.

“They ain’t f------ taking pictures of me,” she screamed. “Get that sh-- out of my face! “That’s my baby,” she said of little Zymere. The young mom has been the subject of five child abuse allegations.

But she told detectives it was Smith who beat the boy with a broken broomstick after he relieved himself in an ice bucket, the sources said.Police said they got a frantic call from Zymere’s apartment on W. 135th St. near Broadway about 2:20 p.m. Monday, the caller telling the operator that the boy was unconscious.

Before cops arrived, Perkins was seen carrying Zymere’s limp body out of the building, where she flagged down a neighbor but was too devastated to speak, sources said.

The city medical examiner conducted an autopsy Tuesday, and results were pending, officials said.

Chauncey Brown, 52, was standing outside the building when Perkins emerged with the boy in her arms.

“I couldn’t tell if (the boy) was breathing. I knew something was wrong,” Brown said. “His body, his arms was just dangling.”

Brown also recalled that Perkins got to the corner “and she dropped to her knees and she said, ‘Oh, no.’ A young lady asked if she was OK, and she said, ‘No.’ ”

A woman who saw Perkins leave for the hospital said she told her the child had fallen in the shower.

“When she came out, she had the boy in her arms, but his arm hung limp,” the woman, who did not want to be identified, said. “At first, I thought maybe he was having an asthma attack, like he wasn’t getting enough air or something. But his head was hanging to the side and his eyes was open, but it didn’t look like he was breathing.”

She said the boy had scratches on his neck and stomach that appeared to be older wounds. He was also dry and fully clothed.

“That baby did not fall in no shower,” she said.

Perkins hailed a livery cab and went to St. Luke’s Hospital, where Zymere died at 2:41 p.m., authorities said.

He had old and new bruises on his head and all over his body, sources said.

Perkins later told cops she and her boyfriend smelled feces in the apartment about four hours earlier and found that Zymere had defecated in an ice bucket.

Smith, who has 18 prior arrests, allegedly erupted into a fury and began screaming at Perkins and the boy, she told police.

He then grabbed the boy’s shirt and began beating him — first with his hands and then with a broken broomstick, she told investigators, sources said.

Smith took him to the bathroom and held him in the shower, according to Perkins’ account. By then, the child was unresponsive.

Smith stormed out of the apartment, only to return 20 minutes later to tell Perkins she was responsible for what had happened and would have to take the blame, sources said.

After Perkins took the boy to the hospital, Smith walked up to the apartment building, claiming to be unaware of what happened, witnesses said.

“He came from around the corner and he had no clue what was going on,” Brown said. “I was like, ‘Yo, your girl just took (Zymere) to the hospital and I think he passed away.’ ”

Smith went up to the apartment, later emerging with detectives, Brown said.

Both Smith and Perkins were questioned by cops Tuesday afternoon. Detectives are trying to match DNA on Zymere’s body to both Perkins and Smith, sources said.

But Smith told cops Perkins was the one who blew her stack after Zymere defecated in the bucket. He claimed she scolded the boy, then took him to the bathroom to clean him up. Smith claimed he

had gone to the Fortune Society facility on Riverside Drive, where ex-cons can get assistance and food, sources said. He said he got two tuna fish sandwiches and came home to find Perkins on their bed doing CPR on Zymere.

In mid-April, a social worker at Public School 192 in Harlem, which the boy attended in the last school year, reported to cops that Zymere may have been the subject of child abuse after she saw bruises on his legs, sources said. City child welfare officials and the NYPD’s Manhattan child abuse squad investigated Perkins and cleared her.

Perkins had also been the subject of child maltreatment allegations on three occasions — last February and two in the summer of 2015. There was also an unconfirmed allegation against Perkins in June 2010.

In another sign of neglect, Zymere wasn’t even registered in school this year, sources said. Neighbors said they had seen the kid walking around, but never saw him go to school. They said Zymere was rarely seen playing outside or in the hallway.

Neighbors said Zymere’s apartment didn’t have electricity and that an extension cord ran from their apartment into the hallway to steal power for their unit.

A spokeswoman for the city’s child welfare agency issued a statement that did not address why Zymere remained with his mom after five prior complaints.

“The New York City Administration for Children’s Services is devastated by the tragic loss of this child,” said a spokeswoman. “We are fully investigating this incident, along with the NYPD.”

A spokeswoman for Mayor de Blasio said ACS conducts roughly 60,000 child abuse investigations a year — but did not elaborate on Zymere’s case.

“The shocking loss of even one child’s life has a devastating impact on communities and New Yorkers overall,” the spokeswoman said. “Our thoughts are with Zymere’s loved ones at this time.”