By Benjamin Weiser, New York Times, March 12/13, 2013

A New York police officer was convicted on Tuesday in a bizarre plot to kidnap, torture, kill and eat women, ending a trial whose outcome hinged on the delicate legal distinction between fantasy and reality.

The trial had drawn widespread attention in part because it involved a police officer’s disturbing behavior, but also because it raised a fundamental question: When does a virtual crime, contemplated in Internet chat rooms, become an actual crime?

There was no evidence that any of the women whom the officer, Gilberto Valle, was accused of plotting to kill were harmed. But prosecutors argued that the officer took actual steps to further his plot [....]

One of Officer Valle’s lawyers, Julia L. Gatto, called the verdict “devastating” and said the defense did not believe that the government had proved its case.

“This was a thought prosecution,” Ms. Gatto said. “These are thoughts, very ugly thoughts, but we don’t prosecute people for their thoughts. And we’ll continue to appeal and continue to fight for Mr. Valle.” [....]