Hutchinson ? The 10-year-old girl never existed.

The important thing, prosecutors said, was that Steven Peterman believed she was real – and was preparing to rape her.

Jurors in Reno County District Court agreed, and on Wednesday they convicted Peterman, 44, of Nickerson, of attempted rape.

A woman who met Peterman in a Hutchinson bar made up the girl, authorities said, in an attempt to help authorities break up a child pornography ring she thought Peterman was involved in.

Although Dist. Atty. Keith Schroeder admitted to performing “a little bit of legal gymnastics” to file the most serious charge possible, he said Peterman wasn’t prosecuted for simply thinking about raping a child.

When Peterman was arrested at the woman’s residence, he was found with several photos characterized by police as child pornography, along with a variety of sex toys.

That meant Peterman actually intended to commit a crime, Schroeder said.

“This is about whether Mr. Peterman had the intent to commit an overt act in furtherance of such a crime,” he said. “When he went to the residence where he believed the child was waiting, he had purchased several items that he intended to use in committing a crime.”

Whether the conviction will be appealed could not be learned Thursday. There is no telephone listing in the Hutchinson area for Peterman’s public defender, Tim Frieden.

Schroeder said the idea of a prosecution for attempted rape didn’t come to him immediately after Peterman’s arrest.

“I remember reading the reports,” he said. “I couldn’t just charge him with possession of child pornography. That was not enough.

“So I pulled out the law books in search of the harshest penalty I could find. It was a little bit of legal gymnastics with some new issues, but we’re fortunate to get to this end result.”

The jury also convicted Peterman of solicitation to commit rape and sexual exploitation of a child. He faces 11 years in prison on the three charges at his sentencing, set for Dec. 27.

He is in jail, unable to post bond.

Retired Judge Michael Barbara, who has written many of the state’s legal textbooks, agreed Wednesday that “mere thoughts” do not constitute a crime.

“Intent is a state of mind,” Barbara said. “It’s actually one of those definitions where you use the word to describe the word. It’s the willful thought of doing something.”

However, criminal intent requires an act furthering such a thought, Barbara said.

“Basically, you cannot be charged with the thought of doing something,” he said. “There has to be some overt act, like getting plans for the bank if you’re thinking about a robbery, or getting a gun.

“But you can walk along and think, ‘It would be nice to rob that bank.’ You can’t be arrested for that thought. State of mind alone cannot support a conviction for anything.”