Where multiple sexual offence counts arise from a single continuous encounter and the complainant's evidence describes a sequence of acts that cannot be disaggregated, acquittals on all counts except one will ordinarily render the remaining conviction unreasonable unless there is something in the evidence that rationally distinguishes the surviving count from those on which the jury acquitted. The trial judge's sentencing remarks indicating difficulty with the verdict, the leniency of the sentence, and the disproportionate length of jury deliberations relative to the trial are all matters that may be taken into account in assessing whether verdicts are irreconcilable.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 4 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 4 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.