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| Joshua Judkins, 9, has second- and third-degree burns on much of his body after he was somehow lit on fire while spending time with three older boys. The incident may be investigated as a hate crime. Judkins Family |
Posted: Tuesday, 16 June 2009 8:08AM
Boy's Burning Injuries May Be Hate Crime
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CHICAGO (CBS) ― A 9-year-old is recovering Monday from severe burns after being set on fire. Doctors say Joshua Judkins will undergo surgery and could spend much of the year in rehabilitation.
Now the injured child's parents say the children involved should be in jail.
CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports the boys are not being held, but police say they did give statements in the case. Police also say they contacted the FBI on the case as a possible hate crime. They say three white boys were with Joshua, who is black, when somehow Joshua was doused with alcohol and set on fire.
"This is not nothing that just happened by chance," his father, Elijah Judkins, said. "This was a hate crime."
The third-grader's parents say he was visiting his mother in Hammond, Ind., when three older boys he'd just met the day before threw alcohol on his back and lit his shirt on fire. He is recovering from second- and third-degree burns.
"I don't really think you all know what it feels like," Elijah said. "I watched my son get scrubbed. I wish I could take his place."
Police say they've interviewed the other boys in the case and they say Joshua may have spilled the alcohol on himself. Police said the 9-year-old isn't well enough to give a statement yet.
"As far as the alcohol being thrown on him, that's the first thing he said when he came to the door to me," said his mother, Arkeesha Judkins. "He said they threw alcohol on him."
That's what Judkins told police that day. The report says he also told an officer that they'd been "playing with alcohol and a lighter."
Police say in the interview with the older boys, their version of the story was they were using the alcohol to light sticks and that Judkins was standing over an open bottle of alcohol when he accidentally caught fire.
The burn victim's family isn't buying that.
"For them to say that my son found an alcohol bottle in a first aid kit, it's impossible," Arkeesha said. "To see your child being sedated, and looking at him, his eyes are dancing in his head, and to take it. To stand there and have to be strong as a parent on the outside, it hurts very much on the inside."
Right now, the family is focusing on helping Joshua to heal.
Joshua is being treated at Stroger Hospital of Cook County. He's in a lot of pain, but his doctor says he is a really strong kid.
Doctors say 20 percent of his body is covered with burns and that he will be in pain for some time.
"We're hoping that he's not going to suffer for the rest of his life," said Dr. Stathis Poulakidas. "But it will take the better part of six months to a year for his rehabilitation."
Judkins' mom e-mailed CBS 2 a photo of his wounds. So much of his skin is burned away, we couldn't show it. We're told it takes an hour-and-a-half to change his dressings every day, and it is a very painful process.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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