“When, if ever, does a thought cross the line and become a crime?”
RAW DEAL: The Untold Story of the NYPD’s “Cannibal Cop” is the memoir of Gil Valle, written with co-author Brian Whitney. It is part the controversial saga of a man who was imprisoned for “thought crimes,” and a look into an online world of dark sexuality and violence that most people don’t know exists, except maybe in their nightmares.
In 2012, Valle’s wife thought her husband was having an affair because he was spending so much time on the internet, so she decided to sneak a peek at what he was doing. What she saw horrified her. Her husband, she believed, was making plans with others to abduct, torture and … eat women, including her. He was subsequently arrested at gunpoint by FBI agents and tossed into solitary confinement.
After Valle’s arrest, worldwide media coverage exploded in a frenzy of lurid tabloid headlines and stories about the “cannibal cop.” But here’s the fascinating part; there was no such plan in reality. Valle was simply engaging in his own private fantasies, albeit fantasies that are abhorrent and grotesque, with others in online chatrooms. But he was charged for his “thought crimes,” and faced life in prison. He was convicted by a jury and incarcerated for 21 months until the judge in his case, overturned the jury decision and he was eventually exonerated of all charges.
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RAW DEAL: The Untold Story of NYPD’s “Cannibal Cop” delves into the dark world of Valle’s violent sexual fantasies. But it is also the tale of his ordeal from his arrest and onslaught of media attention, the devastatingly embarrassing trial and relationship with his female attorney, his wrongful conviction and nearly two years of incarceration, his battle to be free, and his life since.
RAW DEAL will certainly test the boundaries of any reader. But it also raises the question of when does thought become a crime? Valle’s story will challenge the reader’s beliefs about free speech, the right to privacy, and government’s role in watching over us.
WARNING: This book contains graphic fantasy material of a sexual and violent nature. It is intended for Mature Audiences only.
From the Book:
While I was comfortable with who I was and did not feel any shame internally, I still felt that this was the kind of thing that I should never talk to anyone about. I felt the same way about bringing this up to Kathleen. She was my wife and she was my friend, but it honestly never even occurred to me to tell her my fantasies. It wasn’t an issue to me. I was fine with conventional sex. I was often totally caught up in the pleasure of the moment when I made love to her, so I rarely ever thought about my darker fantasies. Every once in a while I would imagine her tied to the bed while we were having sex, but that was about it. I just kept doing what I had always done, what just about everyone does, which was to keep my fantasies secret from my real life.
Until I found the Dark Fetish Network I never realized quite how many people were into this sort of thing. It was not that I thought anything was wrong with me; I was just aroused by certain things, just like everyone else. Just because my template was different didn’t mean I thought that it was a big problem. I would never harm anyone in real life, so why did I care what turned me on?
Acclaim For RAW DEAL:
“One of the most twisted tales you will ever read, and it’s all true. This Is a story of cannibal fetishes, a terrified wife, lying FBI agents, a false conviction and a nice public shaming to top it all off. Kafka could not have dreamed up a scenario this wild.”—Patrick Quinlan, Los Angeles Times bestselling author of SMOKED
“An unflinching, downright scary memoir of injustice from a man whose penchant for morbid role-plays landed him in prison. Gil Valle’s sick, sexual, sometimes silly online chats were used against him by the feds, and he was convicted of masterminding an improbable conspiracy of cannibals that stretched across three continents. The outrageous prosecution cost him nearly everything he had—but now, finally, Valle has found a way to write his story for himself.” —Daniel Engber, columnist Slate Magazine
“This has to be one of the most fascinating and disturbing cases I’ve ever looked into. Disturbing not because of what he said, but because he was almost put in prison for life for his thoughts.” —Melkorka Licea, NY Post Reporter
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