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Man not guilty of setting Woodstock woman on fire for refusing sex

A 34-year-old man was found not guilty Thursday of setting a woman on fire in May 2014 because she refused to have sex with him.

Anthony D. Cohn, who was formerly homeless and will now live with his family in McHenry, faced up to 45 years in prison if convicted of spraying lighter fluid on a 37-year-old woman and setting her on fire.

The jury deliberated about four hours before reaching its verdict. The injured woman sobbed after the verdict as she left the courtroom.

Cohn, who had been held on $250,000 bail since his arrest, was released from jail Thursday.

"It's a tragic circumstance all around," said John Gaffney, Cohn's defense attorney. "Nobody wants to see anybody with those injuries. There's a natural inclination to want to blame someone when this happens."

In the two-day trial, prosecutors argued Cohn was on a four-day vodka bender and wanted sex from the woman, who was sleeping in an area behind a Jewel-Osco off Route 47 frequented by homeless people known as "tent city."

"The only thing (Cohn) wanted more than vodka was sex. He was drunk. He was out of control, and he took lighter fluid and doused her," McHenry County Assistant State's Attorney David Metnick told jurors Thursday morning during his closing argument. "This was a horrific, horrific crime. She did not deserve that."

Prosecutors said after the woman refused Cohn and was walking away, she felt extreme pain on her back and her friend rolled her on the ground to put out the fire. She went to the hospital the next day.

Cohn initially told police the woman really burned her back by falling on a small grill.

Gaffney argued that everyone in the incident was drunk at the time, Cohn's fingerprints were not on the lighter fluid bottle, and the woman's clothes didn't have obvious burn marks on them.

Gaffney also noted that one of the woman's friends testified he could not recall what happened that night.

"The honest truth is we'll probably never know what happened," Gaffney said after the verdict. "If anything good has come out of this case, (Cohn) is no longer estranged from his family, and, hopefully, he can move on with his life."

Cohn was initially charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery. Prosecutors dropped the attempted murder charge before the trial in favor of pursuing the aggravated battery charge, which carried a more severe punishment.

Cohn and jurors declined to comment afterward.

Woodstock man charged with setting woman afire

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