British man linked to New York cop accused of cannibalism says talk was 'all fantasy'

NEW YORK – A British man who chatted online with a New York City police officer about kidnapping and cooking women says the talk was "all fantasy."

Dale Bolinger spoke briefly with reporters after his arrest in Canterbury, England, where he was being investigated in connection with the ongoing trial of NYPD officer Gilberto Valle.

Valle is accused of conspiring to capture and eat several women. But his lawyers say the supposed plots were all fantasies that he shared with other fetishists, and that he had no intention of carrying them out.

Bolinger has told newspapers including the New York Post that none of that talk was real. But he calls himself "an idiot" for his behavior.

Valle's trial in New York City is scheduled to resume Monday.