As a logician I'm always on the lookout for anecdotes about how classical logic doesn't fully align with legal standards in criminal cases. To make my life harder, fate likes to present me with examples that are completely unsuitable for classroom use.

For instance, we have a Reddit comment where someone claiming to be a former prosecutor shared the following story:

[...] we had this guy charged with sexual battery on someone physically helpless and abuse of a dead body. [The victim died at some point, and the medical examiner could not determine whether the act purported to be sexual battery happened pre or post mortem.] So, at trial, guy was acquitted [...] Can't have a sexual battery on someone who's dead and can't abuse a dead body if they're alive.

Unfortunately, beyond its sheer unsuitability for classroom discussion, I also find the scenario described highly improbable and doubt that the events described (or similar) ever actually happened. However, the comment received many upvotes and no challenges, so I am starting to doubt myself a little.

Question: I'm seeking evidence in the form of historical cases/applications ending with acquittal where a materially similar situation unfolded. Negatively, an explanation why the described chain of events, from a legal perspective, is too implausible to have occurred in any major common law jurisdiction.

Credible sources (e.g. newspaper articles) describing the event would be more than sufficient.

I am not looking for:

• Lists of cases where the prosecution established that one of two crimes occurred but failed to prove any specific crime (unless the crimes, material facts or circumstances are strikingly similar to the reddit anecdote linked above).

• Hypotheticals (what would happen if...) except to point out procedural, legal, etc. impossibilities in the Reddit comment's scenario that are blatant enough to warrant dismissing the comment as fiction.

As a logician I'm always on the lookout for anecdotes about how classical logic doesn't fully align with legal standards in criminal cases. To make my life harder, fate likes to present me with examples that are completely unsuitable for classroom use.

For instance, we have a Reddit comment where someone claiming to be a former prosecutor shared the following story:

[...] we had this guy charged with sexual battery on someone physically helpless and abuse of a dead body. [The victim died at some point, and the medical examiner could not determine whether the act purported to be sexual battery happened pre or post mortem.] So, at trial, guy was acquitted [...] Can't have a sexual battery on someone who's dead and can't abuse a dead body if they're alive.

Unfortunately, beyond its sheer unsuitability for classroom discussion, I also find the scenario described highly improbable and doubt that the events described (or similar) ever actually happened. However, the comment received many upvotes and no challenges, so I am starting to doubt my judgment a little.

Question: I'm seeking evidence in the form of historical cases/applications ending with acquittal where a materially similar situation unfolded. Negatively, an explanation why the described chain of events, from a legal perspective, is too implausible to have occurred in any major common law jurisdiction.

Credible sources (e.g. newspaper articles) describing the event would be more than sufficient.

I am not looking for:

• Lists of cases where the prosecution established that one of two crimes occurred but failed to prove any specific crime (unless the crimes, material facts or circumstances are strikingly similar to the reddit anecdote linked above).

• Hypotheticals (what would happen if...) except to point out procedural, legal, etc. impossibilities in the Reddit comment's scenario that are blatant enough to warrant dismissing the comment as fiction.

As a logician I'm always on the lookout for anecdotes about how classical logic doesn't fully align with legal standards in criminal cases. To make my life harder, fate likes to present me with examples that are completely unsuitable for classroom use.

For instance, we have a Reddit comment where someone claiming to be a former prosecutor shared the following story:

[...] we had this guy charged with sexual battery on someone physically helpless and abuse of a dead body. [The victim died at some point, and the medical examiner could not determine whether the act purported to be sexual battery happened pre or post mortem.] So, at trial, guy was acquitted [...] Can't have a sexual battery on someone who's dead and can't abuse a dead body if they're alive.

Unfortunately, beyond its sheer unsuitability for classroom discussion, I also find the scenario described highly improbable and doubt that the events described (or similar) ever actually happened.

Question: I'm seeking evidence in the form of historical cases/applications ending with acquittal where a materially similar situation unfolded. Negatively, an explanation why the described chain of events, from a legal perspective, is too implausible to have occurred in any major common law jurisdiction.

Credible sources (e.g. newspaper articles) describing the event would be more than sufficient.

I am not looking for:

• Lists of cases where the prosecution established that one of two crimes occurred but failed to prove any specific crime (unless the crimes, material facts or circumstances are strikingly similar to the reddit anecdote linked above).

• Hypotheticals (what would happen if...) except to point out procedural, legal, etc. impossibilities in the Reddit comment's scenario that are blatant enough to warrant dismissing the comment as fiction.

As a logician I'm always on the lookout for anecdotes about how classical logic doesn't fully align with legal standards in criminal cases. To make my life harder, fate likes to present me with examples that are completely unsuitable for classroom use.

For instance, we have a Reddit comment where someone claiming to be a former prosecutor shared the following story:

[...] we had this guy charged with sexual battery on someone physically helpless and abuse of a dead body. [The victim died at some point, and the medical examiner could not determine whether the act purported to be sexual battery happened pre or post mortem.] So, at trial, guy was acquitted [...] Can't have a sexual battery on someone who's dead and can't abuse a dead body if they're alive.

Unfortunately, beyond its sheer unsuitability for classroom discussion, I also find the scenario described highly improbable and doubt that the events described (or similar) ever actually happened. However, the comment received many upvotes and no challenges, so I am starting to doubt myself a little.

Question: I'm seeking evidence in the form of historical cases/applications ending with acquittal where a materially similar situation unfolded. Negatively, an explanation why the described chain of events, from a legal perspective, is too implausible to have occurred in any major common law jurisdiction.

Credible sources (e.g. newspaper articles) describing the event would be more than sufficient.

I am not looking for:

• Lists of cases where the prosecution established that one of two crimes occurred but failed to prove any specific crime (unless the crimes, material facts or circumstances are strikingly similar to the reddit anecdote linked above).

• Hypotheticals (what would happen if...) except to point out procedural, legal, etc. impossibilities in the Reddit comment's scenario that are blatant enough to warrant dismissing the comment as fiction.