Judge Overturns Conviction in ‘Cannibal Cop’ Case About Violent Online Fantasies

A federal judge has ruled that
New York City ex-cop Gilbert Valle’s online fantasies of kidnapping
and eating women were exactly that – a fantasy. Though a jury
convicted Valle in 2013 because they believed his online
conversations indicated he wanted to carry out his rather unusual
sexual fetish in the real world, a federal judge has overturned the
conviction. From the
Associated Press:

Judge Paul Gardephe ruled late Monday that there was
insufficient evidence to support the conviction of Gilberto Valle,
defense attorney Julia Gatto said Tuesday.

“The judge’s well-reasoned decision validates what we have said
since the beginning: There was no crime,” she said. “Gil Valle is
innocent of any conspiracy. Gil is guilty of nothing more than
having unconventional thoughts.”

I wrote about the case
last year, worrying about whether he had been charged on the
basis of his dark fantasies being extremely disturbing to the
average person. But he had also used his access to a police
database to actually track one of his fantasy targets. Judge
Gardephe, though, in an 118-page ruling, determined there was no
actual evidence to indicate a real plan to kidnap anybody. From

The New York Times:

Judge Gardephe wrote that “once the lies and the fantastical
elements are stripped away, what is left are deeply disturbing
misogynistic chats and emails written by an individual obsessed
with imagining women he knows suffering horrific sex-related pain,
terror and degradation.

“Despite the highly disturbing nature of Valle’s deviant and
depraved sexual interests, his chats and emails about these
interests are not sufficient — standing alone — to make out the
elements of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.”

Prosecutors are appealing the decision. According to the
Times, they asked for Valle to be detained for the appeal,
but the judge refused. He was released to home detention. His
conviction for illegally accessing the police database still
stands.