{"id":268082,"date":"2026-06-16T00:59:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T00:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/268082\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T00:59:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T00:59:06","slug":"sex-toy-fire-arson-trial-torres-set-to-testify-in-staten-island-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/268082\/","title":{"rendered":"Sex toy fire arson trial: Torres set to testify in Staten Island case"},"content":{"rendered":"

UPDATE: Unexpected twist in Staten Island arson trial puts crucial testimony on hold<\/a>.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 The tragic and bizarre story of a devastating fire in West Brighton that was ignited by a sex toy has been told from several angles in state Supreme Court, St. George. <\/p>\n

Now, the man charged in the case, Harry Torres, 38, is scheduled to take the witness stand to offer his version of events on the afternoon of April 16, 2025, on North Burgher Avenue. Torres is facing charges that include reckless arson and criminal mischief. <\/p>\n

Each of the three arson counts carries a sentence of up to four years in prison. At the defendant\u2019s request, the verdict in the bench trial will be determined by Justice Alexander B. Jeong, barring any legal or procedural disruptions. <\/p>\n

Reckless arson or tragic mistake?<\/p>\n

An investigation by fire marshals determined Torres ignited the sex toy \u2014 a synthetic replica of a woman\u2019s torso \u2014 behind his home on North Burgher Avenue. <\/a>The flames spread to leaves under his porch before ultimately destroying three homes and three vehicles. <\/p>\n

The human toll of the fire has been a focal point of the prosecution\u2019s case, with three families remaining displaced from their homes more than a year after the incident. Neighbors impacted by the incident have also taken the witness stand. <\/p>\n

According to the defense, the fire was a tragic accident fueled by \u201cembarrassment, fear and shame.\u201d The defense said Torres\u2019 primary motivation was to dispose of the sex toy discreetly to prevent his mother from finding it, and that he lacked the foresight to understand the risks involved. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UPDATE: Unexpected twist in Staten Island arson trial puts crucial testimony on hold. *** STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268083,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-268082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}