Gilberto Valle had his 2013 guilty verdict tossed out by a federal appeals court Thursday, giving the "Cannibal Cop" the satisfaction of being clear of all criminal charges, according to The New York Times. Valle had been found guilty on charges of plotting to kidnap, kill and cook women.
The former NYPD officer served 21 months in prison following his conviction, but he has been free pending the appeal.
Trial Judge Paul G. Gardephe believed that Valle's written plans were "fantasy role play," tossing out the jury's verdict.
"This is a case about the line between fantasy and criminal intent," Judge Barrington Parker wrote in support of clearing Valle, according to the New York Post. "Fantasizing about committing a crime, even a crime of violence against a real person whom you know, is not a crime."
"Yet," Judge Parker added, "we must not forget that in a free and functioning society, not every harm is meant to be addressed with the federal criminal law."
The 2013 trial focused on Valle's conversations on fetish websites in which he spoke of a desire to abduct women, torture and cook them in the oven before eating their "girl meat," as previously reported by HNGN. While Valle never actually harmed any women, prosecutors felt Valle went too far when he used a police database to research potential victims before he stalked them.
