January 16, 2016
A West Philadelphia teenager who lit a boy on fire last summer after spraying him with hand sanitizer will spend between 3.5 and 7 years in prison.
According to the Philadelphia Daily News, 16-year-old Rayfiq Tiggle was sentenced Friday by Judge Benjamin Lerner after the teen was tried as an adult.
Tiggle claimed the incident was an accident that stemmed from playing around with a lighter. In court, he asked for forgiveness and apologized to the mother of the 11-year-old boy, who suffered second-degree burns within a matter of 10 seconds.
Judge Lerner determined that it wasn't his position to forgive the defendant, despite acknowledging he has mental health issues. He plans to recommend that Tiggle serve his sentence at the Pine Grove State Correctional Institution in Central Pennsylvania. After he is released, he will be required to complete four years of probation supervised by a mental health unit.
Public defender David Rosen criticized the sentencing and said he didn't see how long-term incarceration would be beneficial.
