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‘Ugly Thoughts’ Defense Fails as Officer Is Convicted in Cannibal Plot
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- March 12, 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 a delicate distinction between fantasy and reality.
The trial had drawn widespread attention, in part because it involved an 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, like conducting surveillance of potential victims.Show Full Article
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United States v. Valle
United States v. Valle was a criminal case in the Southern District of New York concerning Gilberto Valle, a New York City Police Department officer who had discussed on online fetish chatrooms his fantasies about kidnapping, torturing, raping, killing, and cannibalizing various women he knew, and had used a police database to find the addresses of some. Dubbed the “Cannibal Cop” by the media, Valle was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and, for the use of the police database, violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The presiding judge, however, acquitted Valle on the conspiracy charges notwithstanding the verdict, ruling that the prosecution had not proven that Valle’s online communications went beyond “fantasy role-play”. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the judge’s judgment of acquittal and further ruled Valle’s misuse of the police database did not constitute a violation of the CFAA, thus acquitting him of the lesser charge.United States v. ValleCourtUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second CircuitDecidedDecember 3, 2015Citation807 F.3d 508, 40 Int’l Env’t Rep. (BNA) 1735Case historyAppealed fromSouthern District of New YorkCourt membershipJudges sittingChester J. Straub, Barrington D. Parker Jr., Susan L. CarneyCase opinionsMajorityParker, joined by CarneyDissentStraub
The case drew widespread attention for its unusual nature and for the question it posed of at what point exploration of dark fetishes becomes criminal conspiracy.[1] Valle spent 21 months in prison between his arrest and the conclusion of his trial, seven of them in solitary confinement.[2] The case was later the subject of the documentary Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop.
Background
Gilberto Valle
Gilberto ValleBorn
Gilberto Valle III
April 14, 1984, 40 years old
Queens, New York, U.SNationalityAmericanOccupations
SpouseKathleen Mangan
(m. 2010; div. 2013)Children1
Gilberto Valle III was born on April 14, 1984 [4] His parents separated when he was young. He was raised in Middle Village, Queens, New York, and attended Archbishop Molloy High School.[5][6] He attended the University of Maryland, graduating in 2006 with a degree in psychology.[7]
Valle joined the New York City Police Department in 2006, and was assigned to the 26th Precinct in Morningside Heights, Manhattan. He met a woman on the dating website OkCupid and married her in Spokane, Washington, in 2010. They had a daughter in early 2012.[8]
Dark Fetish Net
After Valle’s daughter was born, he became active on Dark Fetish Net, a forum dedicated to sexual fetishes and fantasies involving torture, rape, murder and cannibalism.[9] He chatted with 24 other users about kidnapping, raping, torturing, killing, and cannibalizing more than 100 women, including his wife.[10] In 21 of the 24 conversations, Valle made clear that what he was saying was fantasy, writing in one email conversation, “No matter what I say, it’s make believe … I just have a world in my mind”.[11][12] Valle’s attitude in the other three conversations ranged from ambiguity about his intentions to claiming that he was sincere.[11]
Investigation and arrest
Valle’s wife discovered his Dark Fetish Net posts and reported him to the police. On October 25, 2012, Valle was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping.[13] He was fired from the NYPD following his arrest.[14]