Larry Neumeister 11:09 p.m. EDT
October 28, 2014
NEW YORK – Prosecutors say they
want supervised release with strict rules for an ex-policeman acquitted in a
conspiracy to kidnap, kill and eat women, and they aren't seeking to send him
back to prison — at least not yet.
In a presentencing memorandum
filed Tuesday, prosecutors said that one year of supervised release is
sufficient for Gilberto Valle's conviction for unlawfully accessing a federal
database. Valle is scheduled to be sentenced next Tuesday.
The government noted that it is
appealing U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe's decision to override a jury
verdict and order Valle acquitted on the most serious charge.
It asked that strict bail
conditions remain in place for Valle, who was dubbed the Cannibal Cop by
tabloids, including restrictions on his access to the Internet and on his
contact with women it alleged were targets of a kidnapping conspiracy,
including his ex-wife.
But defense lawyers said in
court papers Valle is well on his way to becoming a model citizen. They said he
hopes to become a lawyer and stays in contact with inmates he met during 21
months in prison, seven of which were in solitary confinement.
Valle could have faced life in
prison after he was convicted by a jury in March 2013 on a conspiracy charge.
Jurors heard evidence that he conversed online with people he had never met
about killing and cooking his wife and others in a cannibalism plot.
The judge wrote in a lengthy
opinion that evidence made it "more likely than not the case that all of
Valle's Internet communications about kidnapping are fantasy role-play."
The defense has asked the judge
to sentence Valle to one year in prison, which he has already served. It said
it does not oppose a one-year period of supervision with limited conditions
appropriate for someone rebuilding his life. It said the judge should remove
Valle from home confinement, a condition in place since he was released from
prison four months ago.
The lawyers said their client
has suffered enough.
"He has lost nearly
everything. He lost his job. He lost his liberty for 21 months. He lost his
wife and his child. He lost many of his friends. He lost his reputation and
anonymity," they said.
The lawyers said Valle now recognizes
that the substance of his Internet chats was "deeply troubling and
disturbing" and meets weekly with a counselor to discuss it.
"Although having his
sexual fantasies revealed in the public forum of this prosecution has been
devastatingly embarrassing for Gil, there also is a sense of relief and
liberation in being able to confront and overcome them," the lawyers
wrote.
They added: "Gil does not
want his life's legacy to be the story of the 'Cannibal Cop.' He is only 30
years old and intends to make something more out of his life. Inspired by the
team of people who defended his innocence, Gil wants to go to law school."
