Man charged with setting LI fire that forced 12-year-old girl to jump from 2nd-floor window
HEMPSTEAD, Long Island (WABC) -- A Long Island man has been indicted on charges of setting a house fire in 2016 that injured a 12-year-old girl.
36-year-old Christful Fouse was charged with arson and reckless endangerment.
The girl escaped the flames at a house on Long Beach Road in Hempstead by jumping from a second-floor window.
No one else was injured.
Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said Fouse had gotten into a physical altercation with three people inside the home, then left, returned with gasoline and set the house on fire.
"A 12-year-old girl nearly died when she jumped from a second-floor window to escape a house fire that this defendant allegedly set to settle a score," Singas said. "I'm grateful to the firefighters and paramedics who treated this young victim and committed to holding the alleged arsonist accountable for this horrifically reckless crime."
If convicted on the top count, Fouse faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison.
Singas said the impact of the fall caused the girl, now 16, to suffer a fractured spine and fractures to her right foot that caused a permanent limp.
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