Photos of those involved in the Rachel Perez child abuse case. Perez is now serving a 102-month sentence after pleading guilty to child abuse and attempted second-degree murder for leaving her 6-year-old son in the attic of her home in De Soto last August.

photo by: Nick Krug

Rachel Perez sits on a bench during an interview from a holding cell at the Johnson County New Century Adult Detention Center, Tuesday, June 21, 2011. Perez is serving a 102-month sentence after pleading guilty to child abuse and attempted second-degree murder for leaving her 6-year-old son in the attic of her home in De Soto in August 2010. The boy weighed less than 20 pounds when found. Despite what prosecutors contend, Perez says that she had never put the boy in the attic or withheld food from him as punishment. She also hopes to eventually reunite with her children when she’s released from prison. Perez could be paroled in late 2017.

photo by: Nick Krug

Johnson County Sheriff's officer Mark Rokusek is one of several deputies who found Rachel Perez's in the attic of her home. Rokusek described the scene as “shocking” and initially thought the boy was a toddler because of his size.

photo by: Nick Krug

The De Soto home where Rachel Perez lived with her three children prior to her arrest on August 17, 2010. Perez was convicted in a horrific child abuse case after Johnson County authorities found her emaciated, malnourished son in the attic.

photo by: Shaun Hittle

Jason Billam, Perez’s court-appointed defense attorney, who after hearing testimony at the preliminary hearing, advised Perez to plead guilty. Billam says that had the case gone to trial, a jury could have doubled her sentence. Billam contends that Perez’s actions were “reckless,” but that the woman lacked the intent to kill her son.

photo by: Shaun Hittle

Johnson County Assistant District Attorneys Chris Brown (pictured) and Erika Rasmussen handled the prosecution of the case. They contend that Perez routinely placed the boy in the attic and withheld food as a punishment. Brown called Perez’s treatment of the boy “torture” and said it was the worst case of child abuse that did not result in death that he had ever seen.

photo by: Shaun Hittle

Johnson County Assistant District Attorneys Chris Brown and Erika Rasmussen (pictured) handled the prosecution of the case. They contend that Perez routinely placed the boy in the attic and withheld food as a punishment. Brown called Perez’s treatment of the boy “torture” and said it was the worst case of child abuse that did not result in death that he had ever seen.

photo by: Johnson County District Court

Johnson County district judge who handled the case. At sentencing, Ruddick called Perez’s actions “unfathomable” and gave her the maximum sentence on all counts.