Boy, Set on Fire by Bully Over Drugs, Undergoes Skin Grafts

A boy who was beaten and set on fire because he refused to obey a neighborhood bully’s order to take drugs underwent several hours of surgery Friday, hospital officials said.

One day after his 12th birthday, David Opont underwent a four-hour operation to graft a thin layer of skin from his lower legs onto his badly burned arms.

Dr. Cleon Goodwin, director of the burn center at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, said David did well during the operation but would need several skin-graft operations; 55% of his body was burned.

“I would still like to stress he is in a life-threatening situation and will be for the next several months,” Goodwin said at a news conference.

The boy’s condition will be evaluated further today, Goodwin said, adding that infection is a major risk.

Head Nurse Barbara Both said that David was “thrilled to pieces that President Reagan” had called to wish him well.

The former President, the White House and Mayor David N. Dinkins were among those who sent cards, gifts, balloons, flowers and messages.

“He is a very warm, loving, trusting child,” Both said. “David is in this big city of ours and is an innocent child.”

The boy sleeps a lot she said, adding: “He doesn’t seem to be in a great deal of pain between the medication and his spirit.”

Despite the attack, David’s parents do not regret coming to the United States from their native Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 18 months ago, said Guito Lavoile, a cousin who said he spoke for the family. The family spelled its name Aupont in Haiti but changed it to Opont when it emigrated, Lavoile said. The earlier spelling has been used by authorities since the attack.

A 13-year-old boy was arrested in the attack. The suspect, unidentified because of his age, is charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, second-degree kidnaping, robbery and attempted robbery.

The suspect is big for his age, appearing to be 17 or 18, police said.