Thought Crimes

Man: When you're behind a computer screen late at night,

no one knows who you are,

where you are.

I became part of this cyber community

where people are exploring deviant thoughts

and exploring their fetishes.

I'm not the only one out there with these thoughts.

They were accepted.

The anonymity makes you

try and outdo the other person--

who could be the sicker one,

who could be the more depraved one.

The baby was sleeping, the mom was sleeping,

there was just nothing to do.

And you shut the computer off and that's it...

I go back to being the regular me.

But someone might say the anonymous nature

could also bring out who you really are.

In my worst nightmare,

I could never have guessed that this would've happened.

Reporter: Breaking news, an almost unbelievable story.

A New York City police officer has been arrested

in a failed plot to kidnap dozens of women,

cook them, and then eat them.

Reporter #2: Gilberto Valle has become known as the "Cannibal Cop."

The 28-year-old's wife uncovered the alleged plot.

Reporter #3: Charged in a conspiracy to commit kidnapping,

and allegedly used NYPD computers

to get information on a list of victims.

Reporter #4: Defense lawyers did not deny his online activity

but called it a sexual fantasy

that he would never act on.

Woman: These are thoughts, very ugly thoughts,

but we don't prosecute people for their thoughts.

Reporter: It comes down to this.

Is this guy just fantasizing,

or is there enough evidence to suggest

he was really planning to do this?

Man: There's nothing we like better than,

at least in fiction, a killer.

You know, the worst, meanest, baddest,

roughest, toughest, serial killer in the world--

let's get inside their heart and mind

and figure out exactly what they're about.

And there are story archetypes

that we all sort of adhere to.

Gil, as the Cannibal Cop, was typed as well,

whether it was the monster of the week

or as this week's Hannibal Lecter,

or as a master criminal,

or as a vicious beast who needed to be controlled.

Not only was this someone

who seemed to have been planning

to abduct and eat his wife and other women,

but the idea of him wandering around with a badge

was something so devious that it was unbelievable.

Shocked.

But then when it actually made it to trial,

there were two sides to this story.

And when the defense stood up and said

this is a thought police case,

then suddenly it got even more theatrical

and more interesting.

It was the best that true crime has to offer,

because it was about a crazy side of human behavior

that we don't get to see,

and that's what was happening in real life here.

Woman: Papa! Come here, look!

Woman: Audio's good?

Man: Just give me a check one, check two.

Check one, check two.

- Woman: Ready to go? - Mm-hmm.

There were lot of myths about what was going on here.

You get a picture painted in your head,

you get a story.

And you just start,

once you have that initial concept,

once you have that preconceived notion,

you start to seek out pieces of information

that go with that, that jibe with it,

and you disregard things that go against that.

You know, I want everyone

to have all the facts in front of them

before they make up their minds for themselves.

I grew up in Queens, New York.

My parents separated at an early age.

Oh, wow!

Mom was more soft love.

You know, she was there for emotional support.

Dad would be the one to kick you in the butt.

He was very, you know, strict,

and we didn't want to disappoint my dad.

Reporter: Valle's arrest comes after the FBI obtained

detailed accounts of the barbaric plans.

The government says Valle made his sick plans

in online chat rooms.

His father, in disbelief.

- Of course, I'm shocked. - Is it possible?

I don't think so.

Gil Valle, Sr.: As a parent, now that all this has happened,

a lot of different things come into the mind.

Is he crazy?

You know, all this stuff coming together.

What is he? Is he crazy?

Woman: How did you feel when you heard

the first allegations about cannibalism and kidnapping?

I couldn't believe it. I said, "That's not my son."

I'm, like, "There's gotta be a mistake. That's not my son."

Gileto, mama kiss.

Gileto kiss. Gileto kiss.

The first time I actually heard these Internet chats...

that's when I noticed,

I'm like, "Okay, my son did have a problem."

For the good boy that I know

to be discussing women in such a way,

it was just horrible.

But if anything, he needed help.

See a psychiatrist. See a therapist.

I mean, I'm not saying whether it's right or wrong,

but you know, some people choose

to let out their frustrations by going to the gym,

punching a punching bag.

That might work for them.

For some it might be

getting on a site like this

and fantasizing, you know,

thoughts of...

horrible thoughts like that.

Well, he created a monster.

He's a good writer.

I mean, how could anybody believe

that one person is gonna kidnap a hundred women

and cook and eat a hundred women.

Which one was in the trunk of his car?

Which one was in the spit over the fire?

Which one was in the oven?

Man: The fact that he's sitting there

in his apartment

while his wife and baby are asleep in the next room,

and he's talking about,

you know, slitting her throat,

and the fact that he's going around in his police uniform

all contribute to a sense of dread around it.

But was he involved in the planning of a real crime?

And at what point is it appropriate to step in?

There was no real-world attempt.

But when they went through his computer,

they found 24 sets of conversations.

In 21 of them people said, "Hey, is this for real?"

And Gil Valle said, "No, this is a fantasy.

No matter what I say, it's all make believe."

But in three, he never said that.

In fact, there were some moments in those chats

where one of the participants would say,

"Hey are you for real?"

And Gil Valle would say, yes, he was.

That could seem like evidence

that this was a real conspiracy.

We do not have thought crime in this country.

We do not prosecute people for what they think.

It is permissible to have all of the thoughts

from a criminal law enforcement point of view

that Gilberto Valle had.

What's impermissible is planning with another person

to execute on those thoughts.

Two charges had been brought against him,

conspiracy to kidnap,

as well as an unauthorized use of a law enforcement database

in order to gain some information about one of the victims.

Man: Conspiracy is the prosecutor's favorite instrument.

In order to be convicted of an attempt,

you have to not only intend to do it,

but you have to go beyond preparation

and cross a line that suggests that you're gonna do it

unless something stops you.

Conspiracy allows you to move that line back.

If two people just talk about doing something terrible

and agree to do it,

and then take one overt act,

they can be prosecuted and put in jail

for the rest of their lives.

Woman: The overt act doesn't have to be a crime itself.

You know, it's not like you say "Let's go rob a bank,"

and the overt act then is you steal a car

to be a getaway car.

It could be something that is entirely lawful otherwise,

it just might have special meaning here.

DeMarco: The defendant talked about

disabling his victims using chloroform.

He then searched "how to make chloroform".

The defendants talked about stalking their victims,

and in fact there was a search

of a proprietary law enforcement-only database

as to where one of the victims lived.

This is not a simple case

of where you're going after somebody

just who thought some evil thoughts.

He took lots of steps in the direction

of possibly doing terrible things.

Engber: He traveled to Maryland