Man Indicted For Nassau Fire That Permanently Injured Girl

A Hempstead man was indicted yesterday for allegedly starting a house fire in 2016 that led to a 12-year-old girl jumping out of a second-story window to escape the flames, leaving her with permanent injuries.

Christful Fouse, 36, was charged with first-, second- and third-degree arson, first- and second-degree assault and first-degree reckless endangerment. His bail was set at $500,000 cash or $1 million bond, and he is due back in court on Dec. 19. If convicted of the top charge, he could face up to life in prison.

“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,” said Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas. “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.”

According to Singas, around 9:20 a.m. on June 30, 2016, Fouse entered a home on Long Beach Road in Hempstead and got into a fight with three people inside, and then left the home.

Singas said that he returned 10 to 15 minutes later with a water bottle filled with gasoline, poured the gas onto a couch on the first floor, and then lit it on fire.

The fire quickly engulfed the home, and required a response from eight fire departments to put out the blaze.

When Fouse allegedly set the fire, Singas said that a 12-year-old girl was sleeping in an upstairs bedroom. One of the men in the house tried to wake her, but her door was locked and she did not respond.

The girl awoke when she heard fire alarms and realized the house was on fire. To escape, she had to climb out of a second-story window and jump to the ground. Her landing fractured her spine and caused several fractures to her right foot, which Singas said left her with a permanent limp. The girl, now 16, had screws and other medical hardware implanted in her foot, and will have them for the rest of her life.

No one else was injured by the fire.

Singas said that Fouse fled the scene of the fire. He was arrested in Hempstead on March 16, 2019 by the Nassau County Police Department.