Inside the Dark World of Fetish Chatrooms: The Cannibal Cop
Gilberto Valle was a New York City Police Department officer who made headlines in 2012 for his disturbing online activities.
Using fetish chatrooms, Valle shared his fantasies about kidnapping, torturing, raping, killing, and even cannibalizing various women he knew. He even used a police database to find their addresses.
Valle’s case went to trial, and he was ultimately convicted of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, as well as conspiracy to commit kidnapping. However, the presiding judge later acquitted him of the conspiracy charges, ruling that Valle’s online communications were simply “fantasy role-play.”
Gilberto Valle III, born on April 14, 1984, grew up in Queens, New York after his parents separated when he was young. He attended Archbishop Molloy High School before heading to the University of Maryland, where he earned a degree in psychology in 2006.
After graduation, Valle joined the New York City Police Department and was assigned to the 26th Precinct in Morningside Heights, Manhattan. In 2010, he met a woman on the dating website OkCupid, and the two were married in Spokane, Washington. They welcomed a daughter in early 2012.
Following the birth of his daughter, Gilberto Valle III became involved in Dark Fetish Net, a forum dedicated to sexual fetishes and fantasies involving torture, rape, murder, and even cannibalism.
Valle engaged in conversations with 24 other users on the forum, discussing plans to kidnap, rape, torture, kill, and even cannibalize over 100 women, including his own wife. However, in 21 of the 24 conversations, Valle explicitly stated that what he said was purely fantasy, stating, “No matter what I say, it’s make-believe… I just have a world in my mind”.
The remaining three conversations varied in Valle’s attitude towards his intentions, ranging from ambiguity to sincere claims.
