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. Valle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit |
| Decided | December 3, 2015 |
| Citation | 807 F.3d 508, 40 Int'l Env't Rep. (BNA) 1735 |
| Case history | |
| Appealed from | Southern District of New York |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Chester J. Straub, Barrington D. Parker Jr., Susan L. Carney |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Parker, joined by Carney |
| Dissent | Straub |
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
editGilberto Valle
editGilberto Valle | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gilberto Valle III April 14, 1984, 40 years old Queens, New York, U.S |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupations | |
| Spouse | Kathleen Mangan
(m. 2010; div. 2013) |
| Children | 1 |
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
editAfter 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
editValle'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]
Trial and judgment of acquittal
editValle faced a maximum of life in prison for the conspiracy charge, and a maximum of five years for accessing the federal National Crime Information Center database without authorization. Valle's wife testified against him during the trial.[8] Throughout the trial, Valle claimed that the chat room communications were mere fantasy and that he had no intention of acting on them.[8] He was found guilty of both charges in March 2013.[15]
Judge Paul G. Gardephe of Federal District Court overturned Valle's conviction on the conspiracy charge in June 2014, saying the evidence supported his contention that he was engaged in only "fantasy role-play". The lesser conviction regarding the database remained standing.[16][14] Valle had, at this point, served 21 months in prison.[17] He was released from prison into home confinement at his mother’s house. In November, the judge ended Valle’s home confinement, sentencing him to time served and one year of supervised release, including mental health treatment.[18] The government appealed the dismissal of the conspiracy charge to the Second Circuit, while Valle similarly appealed his conviction on the database access charge.[19]
Appeal to the Second Circuit
editThe United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on December 3, 2015, upholding Valle’s acquittal on the conspiracy charge and overruling his conviction on the unauthorized access charge.[20] The opinion stated:
The Government appeals from the district court's judgment of acquittal on the conspiracy count, and Valle separately appeals from the judgment of conviction on the CFAA count. Because we agree that there was insufficient evidence as to the existence of a genuine agreement to kidnap and of Valle's specific intent to commit a kidnapping, we affirm the district court's judgment of acquittal on the conspiracy count. Because we find that the district court's construction of the CFAA violates the rule of lenity, we reverse the judgment of conviction on the CFAA count.[21][22]
Media
edit- A memoir, Raw Deal: The Untold Story of the NYPD's "Cannibal Cop", in which the author raises the question of when a thought becomes a crime. Co-written with Brian Whitney and published by WildBlue Press.[23]
- A documentary film, Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop, chronicled Valle's arrest, trial, imprisonment, and release. Directed by Erin Lee Carr, the film debuted on HBO on May 11, 2015.[24]
- An episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit titled "Thought Criminal" was inspired by Valle's case.[25]
- An episode in 2018 of the Adult Swim show Soft Focus with Jena Friedman featured an interview with Valle and his participation in a The Dating Game-style contest.[26]
References
edit- ^ Benjamin Weiser, Officer's Conviction in Cannibalism Case Overturned, The New York Times (July 1, 2014).
- ^ Benjamin Mueller, No More Jail Time in New York Cannibal Case, The New York Times (November 13, 2014).
- ^ a b Sommerfeldt, Chris (January 8, 2018). "Disgraced NYPD 'Cannibal Cop' releases 'extremely violent' horror novel, hopes to make a living off writing". Daily News. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ M. Alex Johnson, Two British men arrested in New York 'cannibal cop' case, NBC News (March 1, 2013).
- ^ Erin Lee Carr, Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop, HBO Documentary Films at 5:32 (2015).
- ^ Benjamin Weiser, At Trial, Officer's Friend Recalls Abduction Threat, The New York Times (February 26, 2013).
- ^ Michael S. Rosenwald, Alleged cannibal cop is UMd grad, Washington Post (October 26, 2012).
- ^ a b c Robert Gearty & Dareh Gregorian, 'Cannibal Cop's' wife takes the stand as horrific details of former NYPD officer's twisted bondage fetish emerge in first day of trial, New York Daily News (February 25, 2013).
- ^ Carr at 1:32.
- ^ "NYC 'cannibal cop' case man Gilberto Valle sentenced on lesser charge., bbc.com (13 November 2014).
- ^ a b Carr at 8:50.
- ^ Deborah Feyerick, Graphic e-mails read at New York cannibalism plot trial, CNN (February 28, 2013).
- ^ Joseph Goldstein, Officer Plotted to Abduct, Cook and Eat Women, Authorities Say, The New York Times (October 26, 2014).
- ^ a b "NY policeman Gilberto Valle acquitted in cannibal plot". BBC News. July 1, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
- ^ "NY policeman Gilberto Valle guilty of cannibal plot". BBC News. March 12, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ United States v. Valle, 301 F.R.D. 53 (S.D.N.Y. 2014-06-30).
- ^ Benjamin Weiser, Gilberto Valle, Ex-New York Police Officer Talks About His Cannibalism Fantasies in Film, The New York Times (April 16, 2015).
- ^ Calder, Rich (November 12, 2014). "'Cannibal Cop' gets 1 year supervised release for accessing NYPD databases". New York Post. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ United States v. Gilberto Valle, Electronic Frontier Foundation (March 6, 2015).
- ^ "U.S. appeals court clears New York's 'cannibal cop' of all charges". Reuters. December 3, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ United States v. Valle, 807 F.3d 508 (2nd Cir.).
- ^ United States v. Gilberto Valle, No. 14‐2710‐cr and No. 14‐4396‐cr (2015). "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Gilberto Valle, Raw Deal: The Untold Story Of NYPD's "Cannibal Cop" (2016).
- ^ Jason Newman, 'Cannibal Cop' Doc Questions Line Between Fantasy and Murder, Rolling Stone (May 5, 2015).
- ^ Allison Leotta, SVU's 'Thought Criminal', Huffington Post (May 15, 2014).
- ^ David Britton, Jena Friedman pulls no punches on 'Soft Focus', The Daily Dot (February 18, 2018).