Man cleared by DNA test asks for reconstructive surgery as reparation

HOUSTON (AP) — A man recently freed from prison after being wrongly convicted of the sexual assault of an 8-year-old boy will receive facial reconstructive surgery at no charge from a renowned Houston surgeon.

Ricardo Rachell spent five years in prison and was freed Dec. 12 after DNA evidence, which had gone untested until recently, showed he didn't commit the crime. The testing was completed Oct. 28 and it identified the attacker as being another man who is a known sex offender. Rachell always maintained his innocence and was vehement there was DNA in his case that was never tested.

His face was disfigured in a 1992 shotgun accident, unrelated to his conviction. The disfigurement also makes it difficult for him to speak. Coming to grips with freedom, Rachell, 51, said he isn't interested so much in any financial compensation for the errors that kept him behind bars, but in being able to again walk down the street without people staring.

"I just want this fixed. That is all I want, that is all I really want," he said in Tuesday's online edition of the Houston Chronicle.

Although the wound is not directly related to his case, it has contributed to him being somewhat ostracized and seems to have been a factor in him being feared, singled out and wrongly accused of molesting the 8-yearold boy.

Dr. Joseph Agris, who is known for his plastic and reconstructive surgery practice, as well as his philanthropy, took up Rachell's cause at the request of U.S. Rep. Al Green, whose district includes the south Houston neighborhood where Rachell now lives with his stepfather.

"The guy needs help, that is what we do," Agris said during a phone conversation with Green. "We will take care of this gentleman and there will be no charge."

As he examined Rachell, Agris determined that he would need as many as three surgeries over the next year to 18 months and that a team of at least three doctors would be needed.

"Don't look at trying to pay anything; we are going to get through this," said Agris to Rachell.

Agris said he would meet with Methodist Hospital officials on Rachell's behalf. Costs not covered by Methodist would be picked up by the Agris-Zindler Foundation, which Agris established with Houston television station KTRK reporter Marvin Zindler, who died in 2007.

Green, a Democrat, said that when he heard about Rachell's case and that he'd previously been shot in the face, he knew Agris would be the man for the job.

"He is a humanitarian on a global scale," Green said of Agris, who has traveled to 32 countries, most recently Pakistan, to do volunteer work to help children and adults with traumatic injuries.

"My whole life depends on this, it will help me live again," Rachell said.