A man who had been living in Glens Falls stands accused of rape, less than two months after he was charged with arson. Earlier this month, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office arrested 20-year-old Anthony Hart after he was accused of raping a teenage girl.

“This is a perfect case of something that should not have happened,” Sheriff Jim LaFarr said. “[There was] no force, the two knew each other. He knew she was a child, 14 years old, that is very alarming, and she is just not capable of consent due to her age.”

Hart, who was charged with second-degree rape and a criminal sexual act, was arrested and charged with arson two months earlier for allegedly setting fire to a vacant home in Queensbury. 

“People who commit arsons are often drawn to fire and they are likely to commit the crime again,” LaFarr said. “We have the sense or feeling with this man.”

Despite the serious nature of the charge, LaFarr says Hart was released without bail after his November arraignment due to the upcoming changes — upcoming at the time, now in effect — to the state’s bail laws.

Arson in the fourth-degree is one of the many counts for which judges no longer have the option of setting bail and defendants are set free.

“He would have been incarcerated in our facility,” LaFarr said. “He would not have had the opportunity to victimize this young girl had he been remanded and held if it were not for bail reform.”

Since taking office at the start of the month, LaFarr has joined a chorus of law enforcement leaders who believe the bail reform law is putting public safety in jeopardy.

“The bail reform for me is troubling,” LaFarr said. “If you took law-enforcement completely out of the equation and just return the ability for a judge to have discretion and use good judgment to set bail for felonies, I think that would restore a balance.”

Following his latest arrest, Hart remains in custody at the Warren County Jail. Bail has been set at $5,000.