'Cannibal cop' wins reversal of kidnapping conspiracy conviction

NEW YORK, July 1 (UPI) -- A federal judge said New York City's "cannibal cop" appeared to be indulging in "fantasy role-play" and reversed his conviction for kidnapping conspiracy.

Prosecutors failed to prove that Gilberto Valle had entered into a "genuine agreement to kidnap a woman," U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe said in a decision released late Monday. Gardephe let Valle's conviction for illegally using a law enforcement database stand.

Valle was awaiting sentencing after being convicted in March 2013. Since the lesser charge carries a maximum penalty of a year, he could be released soon. The judge ordered a hearing Tuesday on his status.

"The evidentiary record is such that it is more likely than not the case that all of Valle's Internet communications about kidnapping are fantasy role-play," Gardephe said in a lengthy opinion.

During the trial, Valle's lawyers argued that his online chats about cannibalism had no ties to reality. Prosecutors argued that he crossed a line by using the database to look up potential victims and researching how to kill and cook them.

"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," Gardephe said.