Let's just put it out there: copy editors are vaguely creepy. There they sit in their corner, poring over pages while all the reporters and (other) editors are doing the real, sexy work of journalism. What makes someone want to be a copy editor in the first place? Could it be... sexual perversion? (Kidding of course! We love copy editors, platonically). Charles Cretella, a veteran New York Times copy editor, is now going to court over a sexual harassment case that centers on-you guessed it-a fellow copy editor, who was masturbating at work. Goodness. The strange details: Cretella says the Times didn't give him a promotion because he was falsely charged with sexually harassing a new 33-year-old copy editor that Cretella was training. Very enthusiastically:

The two became friends, with Cretella giving him a hand-me-down jacket, letting him use his personal coffee machine and giving him some of the candy he often kept at his desk... The Times cited allegations that Cretella offered to train the new employee at his home and had a sign on his computer that read, "Can't get enough of lil' bro."

But! Cretella says he was just being nice, and the other guy is actually the perv:

The new guy would walk close by after lunch breaks and whisper things like, "Did you miss me?" the lawsuit says... In June 2006, the younger employee "started to act inappropriately more consistently" and once rubbed himself through his pants for 20 minutes in his cubicle, the lawsuit says.

Needless to say, both men come off looking very strange. Who's right? We want to hear from each and every New York Times employee with an opinion on this matter. Particularly the copy editors. [NYDN]