United States v. Valle

Overview

United States v. Valle was a federal criminal case in the Southern District of New York involving Gilberto Valle, a New York City Police Department officer. Valle had participated in online fetish chatrooms, including Dark Fetish Net, where he discussed fantasies about kidnapping, torturing, raping, killing, and cannibalizing various women, including his wife. He also used a restricted police database, the National Crime Information Center, to look up information on some of the women discussed.

Background

Valle was born on April 14, 1984, and raised in Middle Village, Queens. He attended Archbishop Molloy High School and later the University of Maryland, graduating in 2006 with a degree in psychology. He joined the NYPD in 2006 and was assigned to the 26th Precinct in Morningside Heights, Manhattan. He met his future wife on the dating site OkCupid and married her in 2010 in Spokane, Washington. The couple had a daughter in early 2012.

After his daughter's birth, Valle became active on Dark Fetish Net, engaging in conversations with 24 other users about kidnapping, raping, torturing, killing, and cannibalizing more than 100 women. In 21 of the 24 conversations reviewed, Valle explicitly indicated the discussions were fantasy, writing at one point, "No matter what I say, it's make believe ... I just have a world in my mind." In the remaining three conversations, his stated intentions were more ambiguous or claimed to be sincere.

Investigation, Arrest, and Trial

Valle's wife discovered his posts on Dark Fetish Net and reported him to police. He was arrested on October 25, 2012, and charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping. He was fired from the NYPD following his arrest. At trial, Valle's wife testified against him, and he maintained throughout that the chatroom communications were fantasy without intent to act on them. In March 2013, a jury found him guilty of both conspiracy to commit kidnapping and a Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) violation related to his unauthorized use of the police database.

Judgment of Acquittal and Appeal

In June 2014, Judge Paul G. Gardephe of the Federal District Court overturned Valle's conspiracy conviction, ruling that the evidence supported his contention that the communications were "fantasy role-play" rather than a genuine criminal agreement. The CFAA conviction initially remained in place. By that point, Valle had served 21 months in custody, including seven months in solitary confinement. He was released to home confinement at his mother's house, and in November 2014 the judge ended that confinement, sentencing him to time served with one year of supervised release, including mental health treatment.

Both the government and Valle appealed. On December 3, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the acquittal on the conspiracy count, finding insufficient evidence of a genuine agreement to kidnap or specific intent to commit kidnapping. The court also reversed the CFAA conviction, holding that the district court's interpretation of the statute violated the rule of lenity.

Media

The case attracted significant media attention as the "Cannibal Cop" case. It was the subject of the HBO documentary Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop (2015), directed by Erin Lee Carr, a memoir co-written by Valle and Brian Whitney, an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and a 2018 Adult Swim segment featuring Valle.