AP
Gilberto Valle is seen in federal court today.
Gilberto Valle's mind is full of sick thoughts — and he wants a jury to know it.
His own lawyer has shown prospective jurors a kinky staged photo of a woman trussed up in a roasting pan to test their tolerance for the officer's "weird proclivities."
Prosecutors say an NYPD officer wanted to kidnap, torture and devour women in a twisted plot of cannibalism.
The accusations were made Monday during opening statements at the federal trial of Gilberto Valle.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan plan to use e-mails and other evidence to show that the 28-year-old was a would-be killer. They say he even drew up a list of targets using a law enforcement database.
Defense witnesses are expected to describe how he lived in a secret, online fantasy world. The defense says participants role-play as cannibals, but never act on it.
Valle's wife is expected to testify against him later Monday.
The baby-faced tabloid sensation known as the "cannibal cop" is even expected to take the stand to make the case that it was all fantasy, that his online chats were so offensive, so over-the-top that they couldn't possibly be taken seriously.
If jurors were to believe that the countless people who visit fetish chat rooms were real cannibals, then where's the horrific feeding frenzy?
Valle, a 28-year-old college grad and father, was just another NYPD patrolman until late last year, when he was charged with conspiring to kidnap a woman and unauthorized use of a law enforcement database.
Beyond the tabloid headlines that blared "Finest Young Cannibal" and "Cook 'em Danno," the accusations were startling and serious: The FBI, following a tip from Valle's estranged wife, unearthed an alleged plot to cook and eat dozens of women, all graphically detailed in a trail of emails, computer files and instant messages. A conviction on the kidnapping count carries a possible life sentence.
"I'm planning on getting me some girl meat," he allegedly wrote in one chat room. "It's this November, for Thanksgiving. ... She's not a volunteer. She has to be abducted."
Another purported target was an 18-year-old high school student who Valle wrote was "the most desirable piece of meat I've ever met" and was small enough to fit in his oven.
A criminal complaint claimed that Valle had created a computer file cataloging at least 100 women with their names, addresses and photos. And it accused him of illegally culling some of the information from the restricted law enforcement database, and doing surveillance on some of his potential victims.
Jury hears openings in 'cannibal cop' case
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Jury hears openings in 'cannibal cop' case
